The Holly and the Ivy
by Bethhawke
Summary: Set approx 51/2 months after the events in Sapphires and Secrets. Hawke is struggling with family life when a relative of Doms comes to stay for the holidays. While Hawke is away on an Airwolf mission, things go terribly wrong at home.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I do not own any rights to Airwolf or the characters created in the TV series. I have just borrowed them for entertainment purposes and make no profit from writing this.

This story is the 4th in my series, following on from 'A Second Chance', 'The Trouble with Teenagers' and 'Sapphires and Secrets' and is set in December 1985, about 51/2 months after the events in Sapphires and Secrets.

While it would be useful to have read the other 3 it is not essential.

Some references are made to the season 2 episode 'The Truth about Holly' but I don't guarantee 100% accuracy although I do try!

This is fan fiction based on the series and the story and original characters are my creation.

This is rated T for language and some adult situations.

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

Chapter 1

Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini sauntered into the Santini Air hanger. The two men seemed in a good mood and were laughing and joking about the stunt job they had just returned from.

"I still can't believe we only had to do two takes, they usually want at least ten, even if the first one is perfect," Dom shook his head as Caitlin offered him coffee, but Hawke took one.

"The first take is always perfect when I'm flying," Hawke replied loftily, "It's only 'cause the actor got sick that we stopped at two takes."

"Yeah, that was funny, even if it meant you had to change out of those clothes."

"Well at least they weren't my clothes," Hawke laughed as he sipped his coffee, "and how was I to know he got air sick?"

"Well, the fact that he told you may have given you a hint," Don answered, grinning widely.

The young actor who they were talking about had been trying to tell Hawke how to fly all week and when the director was finally ready for them to fly the scene he had admitted that he got air sick.

"Yeah, but the little pipsqueak has been winding me up all week. Since when does one lesson as a teenager qualify him to tell me how to fly stunts. And his excuse of 'an inner ear condition' was pretty lame."

"You didn't have dive the way you did, I mean the scene didn't call for it. You'd've thought there were a dozen Migs on your tail the way you were flying!"

"But the director loved it," Hawke replied loftily.

"Yeah, so much so that he fired you," Dom wasn't sure whether to be mad at Hawke or not. He could fly the last stunt with Caitlin backing him but it was meant to be Hawke's job, "and calling the actor 'Pip' didn't help." After the first day Hawke had called the actor a 'little pipsqueak' to his face and since then had shortened it to 'Pip'.

"Don't worry Dom, they've agreed to still pay you as long as you fulfil the contract. You don't need me."

"Well it's a good job or you'd be working overtime for the foreseeable future," Dom glanced around and changed the subject, "Hey isn't Beth and that beautiful baby of yours supposed to be here?"

"They are," Caitlin said, "they're resting out back. They had a busy morning shopping and Beth looked fit to drop. She finally got the baby to sleep about 20 minutes ago so no sudden noises. I've got a charter..." she glanced at her watch, "right about now and those parts you ordered have arrived and need collecting. So, I'm off. I'll see you guys in a couple of days." Grabbing her bag she hurried out to the waiting chopper, waving to the men as she climbed in.

"I'll go pick up those parts, you stay here with Beth. There's always paperwork if you get bored. See you later String and give that baby a big kiss from her Grandpa Dom!"

Hawke sat behind the desk and stared blindly at the paperwork in front of him. He yawned, put his feet up on the desk, linked his fingers behind his head and tipped his chair back, balancing it precariously on the back two legs. He was bored and Beth was still sleeping, not that she would be much company when she woke. She'd had no time for him since the baby arrived. He had offered to help care for her but Beth had pushed him away, insisting on doing everything herself.

Even Le was feeling pushed out and the lack of sleep was affecting his school work. He had moved into Dom's place a couple of weeks ago and would stay there until school finished for the holidays in a few days.

All in all this parenting business was a disappointment. He had hoped for so much more.

Only finding out about the pregnancy two months before the baby was due hadn't given him much time to dwell on it. The two months were spent building an extension onto the back of the cabin, consisting of two bedrooms, one for Le and the other a guest room, mainly for Dom to use.

When the baby was born and Beth brought her home for the first time it all seemed so unreal and he realised that he hadn't been prepared at all. She slept in a cot on Beth's side of the bed for a couple of weeks, while Le and Dom occupied the two new rooms. But as soon as Dom moved back home Beth and the baby moved into the guest room, leaving Hawke lonely and confused in the loft bedroom.

He did wonder if Beth was thinking about taking the baby and leaving him. They hadn't really been close since she had moved back in when she was seven months pregnant and the baby was now three and a half months old. He knew part of the problem at first was because Le was living with them, sleeping on the sofa and it didn't leave them much privacy. But now Le had his own room and Beth was even more distant.

The more he thought about it the more he became convinced that she would be leaving soon. He had tried talking to her but she always had an excuse, 'we'll wake the baby', 'I'm too tired', 'we'll talk later'.

So they didn't talk, touch, kiss or make love, all the things they had enjoyed when they first met.

They didn't do anything together, except occasionally argue. Beth looked after the baby while he worked at Santini Air and worried and blindly hoped that things would get better.

Although she said she was fine, Hawke knew that in reality Beth had never fully recovered from her kidnap and rape just over a year ago. He didn't hold that against her; who could get over something like that? But she was different now. She used to be so strong, passionate and full of life. She had always been emotional and had never been afraid to show her feelings. Even after the rape she had shared her emotions with him and together they had cried and loved and cried some more. But recently she had shut herself off from him and he had no idea how she was really feeling.

He realised with a start that her melancholy mood was rubbing off on him and he gave a deep sigh and attempted to pull himself together. Coffee was definitely needed so he stood up, stretched his aching back and filled the coffee pot.

As he waited for the strong drink to brew he heard a car draw up outside and he strolled over to the door to investigate.

The car was white and spotless and he had no trouble guessing who it belonged to. Sure enough, the door opened and long elegant legs exited the car first, followed by an equally elegant body.

_Nobody exits a car as gracefully as Marella_, thought Hawke, pleased to see the woman who had become a good friend to Beth, and to him too if he was totally honest. She had been working in Europe for the last two months and he hadn't realised that she was back.

He covered the short distance to the car in record time and greeted her with a hug. Marella hesitated slightly before returning the hug, the only sign that she was surprised by the welcome. Usually all she got was a gruff 'hello', so either he had missed her or something was wrong. She didn't think it was the former so she pulled away and gently asked him, "What's wrong Hawke?"

He attempted an innocent look, failed miserably and just shrugged. He cleared his throat which had strangely developed a lump, "Beth and the baby are resting out back. You want to go and see them?" It was meant to be a question, but came out like a plea.

"Are they both alright?" she asked him, a bit worried now.

He shrugged again, "Beth's a bit tired......"

"You have been helping her with the baby, haven't you Hawke?"

"She won't let me."

Marella just stared hard at him before walking swiftly into the hanger.

While Marella visited with Beth, Hawke drank the coffee he had made and had just finished the pot when he heard the door open.

He looked up to see Marella with the baby in one arm and Beth being supported by the other.

His daughter was unceremoniously plonked into his arms as Marella and Beth walked slowly outside to the car. He followed them, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

As Beth climbed unsteadily into the passenger seat, Marella turned to him, obviously angry.

"She needs feeding soon, you'll find everything you need in her bag. I'm taking Beth to the clinic, I'll contact you at Dominic's later."

Hawke stumbled over his words, confused by her anger, "What...why the clinic, is Beth sick?"

"I thought you had 20-20 vision Hawke, but you can't see what's right under your eyes!" she got into the driver's side, not so elegant now, and slammed the door.

At the sudden noise his daughter started to cry and he awkwardly jiggled her about, trying to calm her.

"Let's get some dinner," he suggested, taking her back inside. He found the bag and made up the bottle as he had seen Beth do.

He settled in a chair and fed her the bottle. For the first time ever it was just the two of them and he found himself enjoying the moment. When the bottle was empty she started to cry and it took a moment for him to remember what to do next. Raising her to his shoulder he gently burped her, ending up with milk deposits all over his shirt. He didn't care though, it was all part of the experience. After he had changed her, an experience he realised he _hadn't_ missed, he wondered what to do next.

"I know! Let's play," he told her and was rewarded with a gurgle. He put her blanket on the floor, folded it over to make it more comfortable and laid her on it.

He was a bit lost then. How do you play with a baby who can't sit up or talk? She started to kick her legs around and he found himself watching, fascinated, as her tiny toes wriggled about. He took hold of her foot and tickled it. She seemed to like it so he tried the other foot. Yes, she was definitely enjoying the attention, so he touched her hands. He grinned foolishly as her fingers grabbed hold of his and held on tight. He realised that she was staring straight at him, blue eyes connecting with blue eyes, and he felt a wave of emotion wash over him. He had been missing this all the time that Beth hadn't let him in, but he was going to be firm from now on. There was no way he was going to miss any more of his daughter's development, he realised now that it was too precious.

That was how Dom found them when he returned half an hour later and he joined in the fun and games. Finally she got tired and started to grizzle so Hawke scooped her up into his arms and rocked her to sleep.

When she had settled he quietly told Dom about Marella's visit but it was obvious that the older man had something he wanted to tell Hawke.

"I got a letter from Holly," he took an envelope out of his pocket and waved it in Hawke's direction, "She's coming over for the holidays," he could barely keep the excitement of seeing his niece out of his voice. Hawke however was not so thrilled, remembering the last time he had seen her.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I thought you'd invited Cait to stay over."

"Oh they'll make it up. Holly's really sorry about what happened."

"Dom, Holly tried to kill her! It'll take more than a sorry for Cait to trust her."

Dom couldn't understand his friend's attitude, he thought Hawke would have been pleased. After all it wasn't very often that he got to see his family, "I thought you'd be pleased. It will be a real family Christmas, the first in years."

"I know Dom. I just think you'd better warn Cait, give her the chance to back out."

"But she's family too. I want you all there."

"We won't all be there Dom," Hawke stated quietly, thinking of his brother, still MIA in Vietnam, "just warn her, okay?"

"Okay, okay! But a bit of holiday spirit wouldn't go amiss."

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Beth. Marella said she would call later. Is it okay if I stay at your place tonight?"

"Of course it is kid, and don't worry, I'm sure she's fine."


	2. Chapter 2

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

Hawke was sitting in Dom's kitchen feeding the baby when Marella called to tell him that Beth would be staying at the clinic for a couple of days.

Dom was bustling around getting the house ready for Holly who was arriving the next day. With only three bedrooms it was going to get a bit crowded and sleeping arrangements needed to be made. He put Le and the baby in with Hawke, Holly in Le's room and Caitlin on the sofa, where she was expecting to sleep anyway.

The next morning Dom picked Holly up from the airport and brought her home.

"String! I missed you," Holly squealed with delight and hugged him hard. He reluctantly returned the hug not wanting to give her the wrong idea about his feelings for her.

"Good to see you Holly. You're looking well."

"I am. We're going to have a great time. Show me to my room String."

He carried her bags up to the bedroom that Le had vacated. She chatted all the way and as they passed his room a noise made her stop, "What was that. It sounded like a baby?"

"Yeah, you woke her with all your yacking," Hawke answered dryly, opening the door and picking his daughter up out of her cot, "Holly, meet Symphony," he introduced his daughter proudly.

Holly recoiled slightly but Hawke was too busy looking at his daughter to notice. She quickly pulled herself together, "Who's baby is it?" she asked him.

He looked at her, surprised at the question, "Mine. Didn't Dom tell you?"

"No. But who's the mother? It's Caitlin isn't it?" she sounded hurt and angry.

"Holly, I told you before, there's nothing between me and Cait. We're just friends. Her mother's name is Beth, she's in hospital for a couple of days."

"Oh," Holly sounded thoughtful, then looking around the room noticed the camp bed, "she sleeps on the camp bed?" she asked hopefully.

"No. That's Le's bed. You've turfed him out of his room."

"Who the hell is Le? What's been going on here since I left?"

"Le is my nephew who lives with me and Beth. He's at a friend's house, should be back for dinner."

"Oh. So....Beth is away for a couple more days?" Holly asked, her voice thoughtful.

"Yeah. Let's get your bags to your room. Someone needs feeding."

Holly hovered over Hawke as he fed his daughter, her hand resting on his arm. Hawke wanted her to move away but Dom was watching them affectionately and he didn't want to upset him so he said nothing.

The rest of the day was the same; she wouldn't leave him alone, always sitting next to him and touching him. After Symphony's last feed of the day he decided to go to bed, just to get away from her. Caitlin was due to arrive the next morning and Hawke had a feeling that it was going to be a very stressful day.

Lying in bed unable to sleep, Le's gentle snoring and Symphony's slightly snuffly breathing were suddenly too loud and he pulled on his jeans and went downstairs. He had heard Dom and Holly go to bed earlier so the coast was clear.

After chugging down a glass of water he slumped onto the sofa, his feet up, and closed his eyes.

He was tired and in no time at all was asleep.

The room was dark and at first he thought it was Beth next to him, arms around him, kissing him. But as he woke he remembered where he was and abruptly sat up, shoving aside whoever was with him.

"It's okay String. I'm here," Holly whispered, trying to get hold of him again.

He struggled to his feet and snapped on the light.

"What the hell d'you think you're doing Holly?" he asked angrily, glaring at her.

"I just want to be with you. I know you feel the same."

"No Holly. I don't," he was in no mood to let her down gently like he had done the first time.

She looked hurt but advanced on him, her intentions obvious, "Let me love you String. I know you are lonely with Beth leaving you."

"She hasn't left me she's......oh this is hopeless. I'm going to bed and I suggest you do the same." He stormed out of the room and upstairs to his bed, leaving her standing in the doorway watching him.

"I'll make you suffer for that Stringfellow Hawke," she muttered, "You're mine!"

At breakfast the next morning the atmosphere was tense. Even Symphony noticed and was grizzly and out of sorts, not taking her feed.

"Dom, I think Symphony is coming down with a cold. I'm gonna take her out for some fresh air," Hawke announced after breakfast.

"I'll come with you," Holly said, standing up and grabbing her coat from the back of the chair where she had left it the night before.

"I'm going to call into the clinic so I'd better go alone," the idea of visiting Beth had only just occurred to him, as an excuse for Holly not to go with him, but the more he thought about it the better the idea seemed.

"Give Beth my love," Dom said as Hawke left.

Hawke stopped on the way to pick up flowers for Beth not wanting to arrive empty handed. At the clinic he struggled with Symphony in one arm, her bag slung over the other and the flowers. He was recognised and a nurse took the flowers from him and showed him to Beth's room, promising to return with the flowers in a vase.

He stopped outside her door, needing time to gather his thoughts. He wasn't sure if he would be welcome. Five minutes later the nurse returned with the vase and he was still standing outside the door.

"Are you alright Mr. Hawke?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied, as she opened the door giving him no choice but to enter behind her.

"You have visitors," the nurse declared cheerfully, putting the flowers down on the bedside table and leaving the room.

Hawke stood awkwardly, waiting to see what Beth's reaction was.

"Sit down String, I'm getting a stiff neck looking up at you."

He grinned and sat on the bedside chair, resting Symphony on his knee, "How are you feeling? Why didn't you say you were unwell?" he tried to keep the accusation out of his voice.

"I don't think I realised I was until Marella arrived. I guess I thought how I felt was normal for a new mum. She must hate me!" Beth had tears in her eyes and looked away.

"Who must hate you?"

"The baby of course. I'm a crap mother, I can't even look after myself never mind her."

"You do just fine. She's healthy and happy, that's what matters," Hawke was a bit confused by Beth's comments. It was the first time she had spoken to him about this and he had no idea she wasn't happy being a mother.

"She never stops crying, I must be doing something wrong," she sobbed and Symphony sensing her mother's distress started to cry too, "See, she always cries when I'm around!"

"She's a baby. Babies cry."

"Not that much. She was fine until she saw me. Just leave and take her with you!" Beth's voice had risen and Symphony's cries got louder. The door opened and the nurse entered.

"What's all the fuss about? You'd better leave Mr. Hawke," she ushered him out of the room.

Standing in the corridor, a screaming Symphony in his arms, Hawke looked around wondering were to go. He didn't want to leave, hoping that Beth would see him when she had calmed down. He started to walk towards the canteen when he saw a familiar figure in white coming towards him.

"Hawke, Beth's room is that way," Andrea said, pointing back the way he had come.

"Yeah, I know. I've just come from there. Beth is...upset. The nurse made me leave," he sounded disgruntled.

"What did you say to upset her Hawke?"

"Nothing! She just got upset, said she was a bad mother. Then Symphony started crying and......." he had to stop as he felt a lump developing in his throat. Andrea took Symphony from him and her quiet voice soon calmed her down.

"She can sense when you're upset, that's probably why she cries a lot around Beth. We've had a talk but it looks as though I haven't got through to her yet." she handed Symphony back to Hawke.

"Go and get a coffee. I'll see her now, try to calm her down. I'll come and get you in a while."

Hawke nodded and continued towards the canteen. It was quiet and the staff insisted on playing with Symphony while he enjoyed his coffee.

An hour and three cups of coffee later Andrea reappeared.

"We've had a chat and Beth wants to see you, alone. I'll take Symphony. Just remember Hawke that you might think what she's feeling is silly but to her it's very real.

Hawke nodded and gave the bag to Andrea, "She'll need feeding soon, there's a bottle made up, you just need to heat it."

Hawke sat on the chair by Beth's bed and waited. She had been crying, her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked even paler than usual. He was reminded of the first night he had seen her after her kidnap and rape. She was broken then and looked broken now.

"Beth? Talk to me."

"I don't know if I can."

"You talked to Andrea."

"That's different."

"How?"

"She doesn't judge me."

"When have I ever judged you? What you have to say can't be worse than what I'm imagining."

"What are you imagining?"

"That you're going to leave. Something has gone wrong between us and if you don't talk to me then what else can I think?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No! I just want you to be happy, for us all to be happy. But if you don't tell me what's wrong then I can't help."

"I want to be happy too," she patted the bed, inviting him over, then whispered, "I've forgotten how to be happy. I'm too scared."

He put his arm around her, "What are you scared of?"

"Everything! Remember the old days, before _he_ took me? We were happy then, weren't we? I mean I know we had our moments, fights and stuff, but mostly we were happy."

"I know I was. I loved you, I still do. I'm just not sure who you are now, you've changed so much.."

"I'm sorry."

"No! I didn't mean it like that. I just don't know what you want, what you need from me and you've pushed me away."

"I don't mean to. I....you wouldn't understand."

"You haven't given me a chance to."

Beth drew her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see his reaction, "The birth was horrible! I was terrified, not knowing what to expect." Hawke started to speak but she put her hand up to stop him, "Oh, I know Marella went through it all with me and I knew in theory what was going to happen, but the pain.....and they left me alone during the night with the lights on low and they wouldn't let me eat and I got so hungry..." she couldn't carry on as the memories resurfaced and she started to sob.

Hawke gathered her in his arms and held her tight, "Dammit! What the hell were they thinking?"

She returned the hug, accepting his comfort, relieved that she didn't have to explain too much. He knew that since her kidnap and rape she couldn't stand to be alone in the dark and hunger brought back memories of what she'd had to do to get food from her kidnapper.

The door opened and the nurse stood looking fiercely at him, "Mr. Hawke I insist that you leave immediately and stop upsetting my patient."

He returned her look with one of his own, "Get out! This is between me and Beth and if you had treated her better before this wouldn't be happening now."

Beth didn't want him to leave and tried to pull herself together, "He's staying."

The nurse backed off with a warning that she would be back in ten minutes and Beth had better have calmed down by then or else she was calling security. The door slammed behind her and Beth smothered what was the start of a hysterical laugh, "You've incurred the wrath of the dragon," she told him.

"The dragon?" he asked starting to smile himself, "an appropriate name if you ask me. Now stop changing the subject."

She sighed and continued, "I couldn't think straight. I started to doubt everything."

"Like what?"

"Were Marella's tests right. Were you really the father or could she have got it wrong. And what if _he_ had given me some dreadful disease that was passed on to the baby. Giving birth to her was so painful and brought back so many memories that I can't help but resent her," the last sentence was whispered, she was so ashamed of the thought.

"It's not her fault. You can't take it out on her."

"I know that! I'm depressed not stupid!" she pushed him away, cross that he didn't understand.

He was having none of it, he stood up and faced her, "No! You won't push me away any more, physically or emotionally. Dammit I want you but I won't play games. The way things are now it's just not fair on any of us. We're supposed to be a family but it feels more like strangers sharing the same house. I'm tired of walking on eggshells around you and I want some say in my daughter's

life. Either let me back in or you can leave, go back to your apartment."

It was a long speech for him and he was breathless at the end, wondering if he had made a big mistake.

She just stared at him. He very rarely shouted at her and it was always a shock when he did. But what was most shocking was that what he said was true. She had pushed him away and wallowed in self pity and it wasn't fair on any of them. What he had said in anger had more meaning than all the sympathy in the world.

She looked at the turmoil in his face and held her arms out to him, "I guess a 'sorry' won't cut it?" She smiled tearfully at him as he accepted her open arms

"Actions Beth, not words. Come home and we'll try to make it work. What d'you say?"

"Give me another day, I need time to think things over and I have another session with Andrea in the morning. Can I talk to her about us?"

Hawke shrugged, "I guess, nothing _too_ personal though," he wasn't sure what it was that Beth wanted to talk to Andrea about but didn't like the thought of her discussing their relationship with anyone. He gave her a quick kiss and left her, promising to return the next day to take her home.


	3. Chapter 3

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

Hawke could hear the phone ringing as he opened the front door. Le answered it, listened for a moment, then called out, "Uncle String? Is that you?"

"Yeah it's me, who else are you expecting?"

Le ignored his question, "It's Archangel on the phone. He says it's urgent."

"Isn't it always?" grumbled Hawke taking the receiver from his nephew, "What d'you want Michael? I've just got back from the clinic with Beth."

The voice on the other end was apologetic but firm, "I'm sorry Hawke, but I have an urgent job for you and Dominic. How soon can you be at my office?"

Hawke sighed. It had to be important. Marella would have told Michael that Beth was coming home and she knew better than to disturb them. "I've just walked through the door. Let me speak to Dom. If you don't hear back from me expect us within a couple of hours."

"Thank you Hawke. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't a case of life or death."

"Yeah well it better had be!" Hawke muttered under his breath as he hung up.

After settling Beth in and introducing her to Holly, Hawke had a quiet word with Le.

"Half-Pint, you're the man of the house while Dom and I are away. If there are any problems Beth knows how to get hold of Archangel or Marella and Cait is just a phone call away. Don't leave the baby alone and help Beth as much as you can. D'you think you can manage all that?" Caitlin had decided not to stay with Dom while Holly was there but Hawke knew that she would help Le out if needed.

"Yeah, piece of cake," Le replied with a grin, then noticing the serious look on his uncle's face he added. "we'll be okay. I'll look after them."

Hawke hugged him and ruffled his hair, "I knew I could count on you. I'll be in touch."

Saying goodbye to Beth was harder. After their long talk in the hospital they had been eager to start their reconciliation only to find themselves separated again. Hawke felt the need to reassure her that he hadn't had a change of heart.

"I'll be back soon," he told her, holding her close, "Archangel said this was a case of life or death or I wouldn't go."

"I know, I work for him too remember. Just come back in one piece."

"I always come back," he said seriously, too seriously judging by the look on her face, "Hey, don't worry, I'll come back, maybe not in one piece, but I will come back," he grinned to show her he wasn't completely serious.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest, "Love you Stringfellow Hawke," she whispered, "be safe."

His voice was husky as he replied, "Love you too," before kissing her soundly, their first proper kiss in a long time.

"String we need to go," Dom had entered the room without them noticing, followed by Holly who was glaring at the couple.

Hawke took his time releasing Beth, partly because he couldn't stand to leave her and partly to let Holly see that he was taken. He was so wrapped up in her that he didn't notice the look on Holly's face; if he had he may not have left.

* * *

It was an hour and a half later when Dominic and Hawke were escorted to Archangel's office.

Archangel got straight to the point, "One of my agents needs urgent transportation out of East Germany. The last time I heard from her she was gathering information on a new weapon that was being developed, some sort of hand held laser, which was at the prototype stage. We lost contact with her a couple of weeks ago and last night we received a coded message via another agent which indicates that she may be in trouble. We haven't been able to get a message back to her."

"What did her message say?" asked Dominic

"Not much, just the code and some coordinates."

Hawke was starting to get a bad feeling about it, "How do you know what the coordinates are for. It could be a pick up point or the location of the bad guys."

"If an agent is in trouble they have an unique code that they transmit to us, so we know who it is from, and follow it with the coordinates of where they need picking up. It's standard procedure. All of my agents have a code, Beth has one too." Hawke frowned at the mention of Beth but let it go.

"Okay. Sounds simple enough, but why do I get the feeling that it's not?" Hawke commented, knowing that Michael often left out some important detail until Hawke had agreed to a mission.

"We'll discuss the details in a minute. For now I need to know if you can do it."

"If you arrange the refuelling, we should be able to get in and out undetected. Is that what you want to hear?"

"She must be someone important for you to be so concerned," Dominic commented.

Archangel nodded, "Marella will be here in a moment with her file. Her code name is 'Medusa'."

"Medusa! That's hardly flattering," Dominic exclaimed, "what did she do to earn a name like that?"

"You'll see why in just a moment," Archangel looked up as the door opened, "Ah, Marella, just in time. Do you have Medusa's file?"

She handed the file to Archangel with a nod of recognition to the two men seated in comfortable chairs in front of the desk. "I'll make coffee while you brief them," she told Archangel, and she left the office.

"Marella and Medusa go way back, so she's understandably worried. And of course Marella doesn't officially work for me any more although I don't think the committee can object to her making coffee," Archangel said a little sarcastically. He handed the file to Hawke who opened it at the first page. A smile crossed his face at the sight of the photo, the first genuine smile to grace his lips for a while. He handed the photograph to Dominic who chuckled.

"She's very beautiful," Hawke commented, "she looks a little like Marella. Are they related?"

"Well spotted Hawke. They're cousins, another reason why Marella can't _officially_ be in on this one."

The photo showed a woman who looked about Marella's age. Her skin slightly darker and her hair slightly lighter, but the features were similar. Same mouth and eyes. But it was the hair that was making the men smile. She had it tied into hundreds of thin braids, each finished off with a coloured bead, which at a glance looked like the snakes on the legendary Medusa's head.

"Does she still have her hair like that?" Dominic wanted to know.

"As far as I know, but even if she doesn't she looks enough like Marella for you to easily recognise her."

"How will she know when to expect us and for that matter know that she can trust us?" Hawke wanted to know.

"Well, that's the bit I haven't mentioned yet......" Archangel sounded cagey.

"I knew it!" Hawke exclaimed, "there's always something."

"It's not that bad, I promise. It's just that you will have a passenger."

"No Michael, no passengers. It's hard enough keeping me and Dom safe without further responsibilities."

"You need this person. Medusa will not trust you, she has been betrayed too often in the past. The only way she will go with you is if there is someone with you who she trusts."

Hawke cottoned on first, leaving Dominic looking puzzled, "Marella," he sighed, not liking at all the thought of being responsible for Michael's partner.

"Why can't you just give us a password?" Dominic wanted to know.

"A password only works if the other party knows it too, and we can't get hold of Medusa. Marella is your only chance of getting her to go with you. She won't hinder you, she's the best agent I've ever had," Michael's tone expressed the pride and love he had for Marella.

"I know she's professional," Hawke agreed, "it's just that where Airwolf is concerned we prefer to work alone."

Michael sighed, "I know, and if there was any other way...."

"Okay, okay. Marella can come, but she does exactly as I say."

"You need me Stringfellow, so a little trust would be good here," Marella, entering the office, had caught the end of the conversation and placed the tray of coffee heavily onto the desk, the cups rattling dangerously. Archangel put a soothing hand on her arm in an effort to calm her down. Everyone was emotional at the moment and the mission needed a calm head.

Hawke had another worry though, "Can you have someone check in on Beth, keep her up to date on our situation? I don't like leaving her alone so soon after leaving the clinic," he gave a pointed look at Marella, knowing that she would understand why.

"She'll be fine. Holly can help her with the baby, she's a good girl," Dominic said, not realising that Holly was part of the reason why Hawke was worried.

Marella handed cups of coffee around and reassured Hawke that she would get Lauren or Andrea to call at the house and keep Beth up to date.

Over coffee they read the file and talked over a few more details. Eventually Michael asked, "How soon can you leave?"

"Right away if you've told us everything we need to know," Hawke replied standing up.

"If there's anything else you need to know Marella can brief you on the way," Michael stood up also, "Good luck gentlemen and take good care of Marella for me."

Marella kissed Michael goodbye much to his embarrassment; he was used to hiding his feelings in public not showing them.

"Hawke will take good care of me. He knows he will have to face you if anything goes wrong. Now I just need to make a few arrangements then I'm ready to go." She could have let Michael speak to Lauren and Andrea but he didn't know the full story of why Hawke wanted Beth watched and she didn't want him finding out. Only Hawke, Marella and Andrea knew how depressed Beth had been after her kidnap and rape just over a year ago. Marella and Andrea had both been involved in her mental and physical healing and agreed that nobody else need know unless it was essential.

Her depression after the baby was born was now being treated but Hawke wasn't sure how soon she would start feeling better and she had definitely not been herself lately.

* * *

A couple of hours later they were in Airwolf and had just cleared the area surrounding the Valley of the Gods.

"You can remove the blindfold now," Hawke told Marella who was sitting in front next to him.

"About time too. I hate flying when I can't see," Marella replied grumpily, unwrapping the blindfold that Hawke had tied around the helmet, "That's better." She looked out in the hope of recognising where they were.

"I've flown an indirect route so you won't be able to tell where we've come from," Hawke told her with a sly smile.

"Why don't you tell us more about Medusa?" Dominic asked, hoping to defuse an argument before it got started, "Archangel said she's your cousin."

"Yes, my father's sister's daughter. We spent a lot of time together as children. Adriana's only a year older then me."

"Adriana, that's a pretty name. What's she like?"

"Well," Marella was thoughtful, wondering how much to tell the two men, "she's nothing like me, not really. She's more open and friendly, quite loud to be truthful. If she likes you she will probably flirt outrageously, but she means nothing by it. She's not interested in men."

"What? No men?" Dominic asked surprised.

"No Dominic, no men at all. She's gay but she hasn't had a partner in about five years, not since Amy who she lost on a mission not dissimilar to this one. We sent a team in to bring Amy out but the enemy hijacked the plane and went in to pick her up. She didn't know the men who Archangel had sent so went with the bad guys without question. They tortured and killed her."

"That's sad. I can see why Adriana might not trust us."

"There's no 'might not' about it. She will _not _trust you and will have no problem shooting you. That's why you need me."

It was dark and there was snow on the ground when they eventually arrived in East Germany. The journey had been uneventful thanks to Airwolf's ability to fly undetected by radar. Tiring but uneventful. They flew over the the area where they were to pick up Medusa but saw no life signs and decided to find somewhere safe to set down until morning. They found a clearing not far away and wrapped up warm before covering Airwolf with the camouflage net. It was too cold to camp out so they had to spend the night inside Airwolf, taking it in turns to sleep.

Hawke was on watch when the sun finally made an appearance, peaking through the snow clouds that were building up again. He made coffee and woke Dom and Marella.

"I hope it doesn't snow. I don't want to be stuck here any longer then necessary," Hawke commented, looking up at the sky..

"It will snow, and soon," Marella replied, "but we should be okay as long as there isn't a blizzard, right Hawke?"

"In theory, yes, but I'd prefer clear weather. No point in taking any chances."

They stood close to Airwolf sipping the hot coffee, letting the heat warm their chilled bodies.

"I'm going to take a walk to the rendezvous point. Dom, keep scanning, I don't want any surprises."

Hawke picked up a hand held radio and started his walk through the thin layer of snow.

The rendezvous point was only 5 minutes away and he was soon back.

"We'll have to leave the lady here. There is no room to land any closer. I just hope Medusa comes looking for us. Keep scanning for heat sources Dom, I'll keep watch out here."

"Yeah no problem, it's warmer inside Airwolf," Dom climbed into the back just as the first flakes of snow started to fall.

"Damn!" exclaimed Hawke, pulling up the fur trimmed hood of his parka.


	4. Chapter 4

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

Medusa casually walked towards the lab. Her ID had got her this far but now she had to rely on luck. Only the highest level of staff were allowed in the lab and she could guess why. After putting together the prototype laser they needed to test its effectiveness and for that they needed human guinea pigs, ones who would not be missed. The question was not whether they would die but how quickly death occurred and how to prevent it if one of their own accidentally got shot. Now that the tests were complete they were going to start mass production of the weapon and she wanted to get the prototype to Archangel before they started. What she needed was the test results and then she could leave and make her rendezvous with whoever Archangel had sent to pick her up. She just hoped that her message had got through.

Two men dressed in white coats were walking towards her, and another man was close behind her. She wasn't worried about the two, they were discussing what to have for dinner and were obviously on a break. The one behind her was a problem though. When she reached the next door it was going to be obvious that she didn't have clearance to go any further. Medusa slowed down and made a point of looking at her watch, hoping that the man would pass her and if she was really lucky he might even hold the door for her.

It wasn't her lucky day, as she slowed the man did pass her then he turned to face her.

"Do you have clearance for this area?" he demanded in German.

Medusa considered her options, she recognised him now as one of the professors who worked in the lab and knew that he would never let her in.

"I got lost. I have a meeting and I am late. Can you direct me to....." she glanced behind her then turned suddenly placing a judo kick at his neck. He fell to the ground but had been expecting trouble and was prepared. His legs came out, kicking at her ankles and knocking her down, her outstretched arm hitting the ground with a thud.

He scrambled on hands and knees towards the lab door, reaching in his jacket for his gun. He never had a chance to draw it. Medusa pointed the laser at him and shot him through the head. He slumped to the ground but not before his hand pressed the alarm by the door.

Loud bells sounded and Medusa knew she only had a few minutes to get the documents and escape.

Checking her watch she set the small explosive device that she had ready in case of an emergency like this. She had two minutes before it exploded so acting quickly she slipped the professor's door pass out of his lab coat pocket and unlocked the door.

At the far end of the lab there was a desk and on the desk next to a computer was a file and two discs. She grabbed them, not having time to check if they were what she wanted and looked at her watch. She had been quicker then she thought so she opened the disc drive. Sure enough there was another disc in there and she grabbed that too, pocketing them all. Another glance at her watch and her heart nearly stopped. The time hadn't changed, she had no idea how long she had been in the lab and the bomb was next to the door.

Moving as fast as she could she covered the distance to the door in record time, then had to swipe the pass to exit. Time was moving in slow motion now as she opened the door and glanced down the long corridor. She could hear the military boots pounding the floor even over the sound of the alarms and it would only be seconds before they rounded the corner and saw her and the dead professor.

It only took her a second to process this information and then the more immediate danger became evident. Running in the opposite direction to the approaching footsteps she just got to a bend in the corridor when the bomb exploded, much too close for comfort. Throwing herself to the ground, arms instinctively covering her head, she felt dust and rubble landing on her. From the screams behind her it was clear that the men had been closer to the bomb than she had and she glanced behind her. She wished she hadn't as the sight of the bodies, broken and bloodied swam in front of her eyes as a wave of nausea and dizziness threatened to overcome her. The bomb had been meant as a diversion, she had not intended to injure or kill anyone with it. She had been working in the complex for a couple of years and had come to know and like some of her colleagues. Deceiving them was one thing, blowing them up was another.

Swiping away the tears from her eyes she pulled herself up using the wall to support herself and assessed her injuries. Apart from the fact that she could no longer hear the alarm bells clearly, and the dust in her eyes was making them sting she didn't have much more than grazes on her hands and knees.

Now she just had to get out of he building and make her way to the rendezvous site. She had her diversion and all personnel seemed to be running towards the lab so as casually as she could Medusa left the building. The guard on duty at the gate didn't present a problem as he was directing the fire truck from the other side of the complex and using the professor's key she unlocked the pedestrian gate and slipped through undetected.

* * *

"At least she chose a quiet place for a pick-up," commented Marella, talking just to try to stop her teeth chattering.

"Yeah," agreed Hawke a little tetchily, "a little too quiet for my liking. Where can she be hiding out? If the pick-up was so urgent she should have been here by now."

"Give her time Hawke, she'll get here if she can. I just hope nothing has gone wrong," Marella looked worried for her cousin and not for the first time Hawke was regretting bringing her.

Suddenly Dom called to them from inside Airwolf, "I'm registering an explosion couple of miles from here."

"That could be her," Marella said excitedly, "it wouldn't be the first time she's used an explosion as a diversion."

Hawke ran towards Airwolf, "Help me get the net off. If she's followed we may need to get away quickly."

Hawke and Marella removed the camouflage net and stored it away while Dom continued to scan the area.

"One life sign moving towards us quickly from the east. Get ready everyone!" Dom shrugged off his jacket and put on his helmet.

Hawke and Marella drew their guns and pointed them towards the direction Dom had indicated. The snow was falling heavily now and lay thick on the ground muffling any noise but they still heard her coming.

"Over there," Hawke said quietly to Marella, pointing in the direction of the noise.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a woman came crashing out of the trees and stopped abruptly when she saw the helicopter. Drawing a weapon she shouted out in German.

"She says to lower our weapons or she will shoot," Marella translated for Hawke's benefit.

"I kinda got that," he replied tersely, "talk to her, that's what you're here for."

"Adriana, lower your weapon. We're all friends. We've come to take you home."

She didn't appear to hear her and advanced slowly, "Adriana, it's me, Marella. Lower your weapon now!" Marella lowered the hood of her coat so the her face was visible but Adriana showed no sign of recognition.

Hawke was getting worried, "Marella get inside. I don't want you injured."

Marella slowly moved around Airwolf and opened the door, shielding herself behind it. Hawke did the same with his door and called out to Adriana, "Adriana. Medusa. We are friends. You must recognise Marella," he was beginning to wonder if she had been drugged or mind washed. He knew from experience what some drugs could do to you. He had once shot Dom believing him to be the enemy.

He tried again, "Medusa, Archangel sent us. You're safe now, lower your weapon and get inside."

He bravely took a step towards her and then cried out in agony as his right arm was struck by what felt like pure heat. He dropped his gun and fell to the ground clutching his arm. Marella ran to him, regardless of her own safety, and found herself face-to-face with Adriana. Marella raised her arms in surrender but Adriana didn't shoot.

"Marella? Is that you?" she asked, clearly confused.

"Yes it's me," she drew her cousin into a quick hug then turned her attention to Hawke, "What have you done to him?"

Adriana continued to look at her confused, "What?"

Marella took in her appearance and suddenly realised that Adriana couldn't hear her and was probably having trouble seeing, "You got too close to the explosion, didn't you?" she shouted to her cousin, "what did you shoot him with?"

Adriana handed her weapon to Marella who immediately recognised it was the prototype laser.

"What do I do?" she shouted, "How do I treat him?"

Medusa suddenly realised her situation, "He's the pilot?" she shouted unable to control the level of her voice "Shit!"

"Yes! How do I treat him?"

"Snow, lots of it. Cover his arm, we have to stop the burning inside."

They lay Hawke on his side on the ground and covered his arm with snow. As the cold started to ease the pain he came around, "What the hell was that?" he demanded, his eyes clouded with pain.

Dom, who had been watching anxiously from his engineering position while scanning the area, took a moment to check on his friend.

"Dom, I'll be okay. Keep scanning in case she was followed." Dom climbed back into Airwolf and continued to scan.

"I'm sorry," Medusa told Hawke, "I thought you were one of them."

"I gathered that, unless you make a habit of shooting friends," he replied sarcastically, "what does that thing do?"

"It's a type of laser. It burns you from inside. If you don't stop the burning then it will eventually kill you. The treatment is simple, just stop the heat." She piled more snow onto the wound.

"Yeah, and I die from hypothermia in the meantime," he grumbled.

"He has a point," Marella said, "he's soaked through and it's below zero out here. We need to get him warm, while still cooling down his arm."

Hawke lifted his head painfully, "Fill the water storage containers with snow. If we keep the temperature in Airwolf low then we can stop it melting."

"Good idea," Marella ran to get the containers and filled them with snow, "Dom, help me get him inside and find a dry flight suit. Lower Airwolf's temperature to just below freezing. We can keep our coats on to keep warm, but the snow needs to stay frozen."

Once they had him inside and Dom had helped him to dry off and change into his dry clothing, Hawke tried to get into the pilot's seat.

"Hey, you're in no state to fly," Dom protested.

"I'll be fine," Hawke argued.

"No way Hawke," Marella intervened, "Dom will fly, I'll take engineering and you'll sit next to me so I can continue to treat your arm. Adriana can sit up front."

"No need. I can fly," Hawke was determined to fly so Marella removed the snow from his arm. Within a minute the pain reached unbearable levels again and he felt his sight receding.

"Okay, you win," he grudgingly gave in, realising that he couldn't put them all in danger.

"Glad you see it my way," Marella said, packing snow back onto his arm, "now let's get out of here before someone realises that Adriana has got away with their new toy."


	5. Chapter 5

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

The weather had been closing in for a while but in the last hour the snow had started falling heavily and the sky was grey and solid with it. Dom got Airwolf into the air and they had travelled only a few minutes when it became obvious that they were not going to get much further.

"Marella, call up the weather reports. I can't keep her up much longer if this continues," Dom was struggling with the controls and although it should have been daylight, visibility was zero.

"Dom, we've flown through blizzards before," Hawke reminded him.

"No String. You've flown her through blizzards before, but I haven't. I can't hold her, not today. Maybe on a good day, after a decent night's sleep and a hot meal, but not today," Dom was obviously unhappy about the situation. If Hawke hadn't been injured they could have flown out no problem, but Airwolf was Hawke's bird, not his, and even though he had flown her several times, this was beyond his capabilities.

"Blizzard should blow itself out within a couple of hours," Marella reported, "there's a clearing up ahead with no life signs. You want to set her down?"

"Yeah," Dom lowered Airwolf carefully to the ground and her wheels sunk into the deep snow.

"Sorry guys. I wish I could have picked a better day but needs must," Adriana's tone was light but Marella knew of was just a cover for her worry, "I'll look after Hawke, after all it's my fault he's injured. You want to radio home, let them know about our delay?"

Marella selected the secure channel and radioed Archangel.

"Airwolf to Angel 1, are you receiving?" A few seconds passed then the radio crackled to life.

"Angel 1 receiving. Marella, have you got Medusa yet?"

"She's here, but Hawke is injured and we're stuck in a blizzard."

"What's your ETA?"

"Not too sure at this point. Depends on the weather and Hawke's condition. Probably late evening your time."

"What_ is_ Hawke's condition?"

"Treatable. He can't fly but he'll live."

"I'll inform Beth. Andrea will be going over there later this morning."

"Tell her not to worry. Oh and Michael, if I'm late home keep the bed warm, it's freezing here. Airwolf out."

Marella was smiling as she shut off the connection and turned to see her cousin staring at her in astonishment.

"Marella! You and Archangel? No way!"

"Yes way!" Marella teased back, "you know I've always loved him."

"Yes I know but that's different from actually doing something about it. How long?"

"Just over a year," Marella smiled fondly at the memory, "even though we haven't seen that much of each other. The committee found out about us and reassigned me. I've been in Europe for most of the time, but the separation just makes us stronger."

"Hey ladies, less of the chatter and more of the treatment," Hawke, who was sitting next to Adriana, was hiding a grin as he pretended to be disgusted by their gossip. In truth he was happy for Michael and Marella but wanted to stop the conversation before it got too personal as they seemed to have forgotten he was there.

"Sorry Hawke," Adriana wiped up the melting snow that was starting to drip down his arm and replaced it with fresh.

They sat in Airwolf for a couple of hours while around them the blizzard reached it's peak then slowly started to subside. The pain in Hawke's arm had become bearable and he needed less snow to control it. While they were waiting Medusa and Marella had read the professor's notes which showed the results of the tests. In most cases death occurred within a couple hours of being shot with the laser depending on which organs were close to the entry site but if the wound was immediately cooled down for a minimum of an hour then the victim usually lived as long as no major organs had been penetrated.

Hawke's arm had been packed with snow for over two hours now so they decided to try him without it. The pain was still there, and the wound was bleeding slightly but the burning had stopped and Marella bandaged the wound, gave him two painkillers and insisted he wear a sling.

Hawke was walking around, stretching his legs and moving his arm around, testing it, when he suddenly bent forward, clutching at his stomach.

"Hawke, you okay?" Marella's voice penetrated the nausea, "Hawke!"

He straightened up trying unsuccessfully to control his churning stomach and ran towards the trees.

He returned a few minutes later looking pale and shaken.

"Must have been the painkillers," he croaked, picking up some fresh snow and sucking on it.

"You feel up to leaving now?" Dom asked. The snow had stopped and he had spent the last half hour digging the landing gear free. He was ready to leave but was worried about Hawke getting sick in the air.

"I'll be fine. Let's go. I'll sit up front with you, take over if you want a rest."

"Humph!" Dom grunted but let him take the left seat.

"Let's get out of here,"! Hawke said as they all took their places and started Airwolf up, "I've got an uneasy feeling."

As they left German airspace the weather improved and wanting to get home quickly Dom requested turbos.

"Turbos," confirmed Marella, "hold on Adriana, this is like nothing you've ever experienced."

They flew at Mach 1 for a while, Adriana straining to see out of the cockpit window from her seat in the back.

"It's amazing!" she told Marella through her helmet mike, "if I knew about this I'd have requested to leave sooner."

Marella laughed at her cousin's enthusiasm until she became aware of jagged breathing through her helmet mike, "Hawke? You okay?" she asked.

He had been trying to control the nausea for a while but was losing the battle and really needed to get out. "Need to stop," he managed to say, embarrassed by his lack on control.

Dom took Airwolf out of turbos and Marella scanned for a landing site, giving Dom coordinates.

After they landed Hawke once again made for the privacy of the trees leaving the others to discuss the situation. They were just debating whether to continue or rest a while when there was a beeping from the back of Airwolf. Pressing the descrambler button, Marella found himself facing Michael's concerned face on the screen.

"Michael, is something wrong?"

"Is Hawke listening?"

Marella looked outside. Hawke was still in the trees, "No, he's sick, we've had to make another stop."

"Good, you need to decide whether to tell him this now or when you get nearer home."

"Michael, spit it out, you're scaring me," Marella knew that it wasn't like Michael to beat around the bush.

He took a deep breath and told her, "Symphony is missing. We think Holly has taken her."

Dom had been listening and interrupted, "They've probably gone for a walk or something," he suggested hopefully.

Michael sounded annoyed when he answered, "Do you think I'd bother you if they had just gone for walk? Holly has packed her case and taken Symphony somewhere in_ your_ car in the middle of the night. When Le woke late this morning with one hell of a headache he found them gone. He thinks that Holly drugged his bedtime milk that she made him."

"What about Beth? She would have been in the same room, and she doesn't drink milk, she can't, it makes her sick," Dom asked, still not convinced that his Holly would do that.

"Beth had taken a sleeping tablet prescribed by Andrea, so she also slept late. Look, I'm sorry Dom but there is no doubt in my mind that Holly is responsible. We have every available agent on it and the police and FBI have been notified."

Marella was about to answer when she saw Hawke returning. If she told him now then he would insist on flying Airwolf home himself, turbos all the way, whether he was sick or not. But if she didn't tell him she didn't think he would forgive her, especially if something happened to his baby as a result of their delay, besides he was very astute and would notice the atmosphere in Airwolf had changed.

"I'll tell him now. Michael, arrange for refuelling in two hours time, same place as before. Hawke will fly using turbos, Dom can sit in the co-pilot's seat in case he needs to take over. And Michael, don't leave Beth alone, not for a minute, understand?"

"I'm not sure I do, but I'll have Andrea stay with her. She's managing remarkably well considering."

"No, she isn't. Believe me. I need to go now, Airwolf out."

Despite his obvious discomfort Hawke immediately noticed that something was wrong.

"What's happened?" he asked them, not liking the look on their faces.

Marella was the one to tell him, "We need to get home as quickly as possible. Are you up to flying, preferably with turbos?"

"Yes, but why?" he demanded.

"Symphony has gone missing, we think Holly has taken her."

Hawke's face was already pale but now he looked like death. He slumped against the side of Airwolf for support, "How can she be missing?" he asked quietly. He wanted to shout but didn't have the energy.

"Easy String," Dom said, putting a supporting hand on his shoulder, "Michael is looking for her. I'm sure Holly will look after her."

"Dom, you're blind where that girl is concerned. She's sick! She tried to kill Caitlin and now she has my baby and you tell me to take it easy," he had his fist raised at the older man, who was standing firm as though expecting the blow. Marella stepped between them.

"This isn't helping. Hawke, if you're up to flying I think you should get in there now. Dom can co-pilot."

Hawke eased Airwolf into the air, testing his arm. It was a little uncomfortable but that would help him stay alert. They flew using turbos until they approached the refuelling site. After taking on the fuel Dom took over for a while to give Hawke a much needed rest.

When Hawke took the controls back again Dom tried talking to him.

"String, I know what you think but I'm sure Holly won't hurt her. She's probably just a bit confused. What's the betting we'll get home and they'll both be there?"

"Dom, I don't blame you for this. I should have seen it coming. Holly has been possessive of me since she arrived."

"Yeah, but if I'd......"

"Dom, I really can't discuss this now. I'm having enough trouble just trying to control Airwolf without throwing up."

The rest of the journey was done in silence as Hawke and Dom took it in turns to fly. They were all exhausted by the time they finally landed at Knightsbridge. Archangel was waiting for them and led Marella, Medusa and Hawke inside, leaving Dom to take Airwolf back to the Lair.

Inside Hawke excused himself and made his way to the bathroom. He rested his head against the pristine white tiles and took deep breaths. He felt awful, as though he had eaten something bad and didn't know how he had made it back without disgracing himself in Airwolf. His body needed attention but he had to deal with his emotions first. The deep calming breaths had the effect of quelling the nausea and he thought he had himself under control when a sudden image of his daughter flashed in his head causing him to rush to the cubicle, slamming the door.

Standing outside in the corridor Archangel had been undecided whether to enter the bathroom and talk to Hawke. He finally decided that it would be an intrusion unwelcome by Hawke whether he was just using the facilities or, as Archangel suspected, taking time out to compose himself before the briefing. When he heard the door slam he rapidly walked away until he reached a bend in the corridor where he turned and walked slowly back towards the bathroom. As he came level with the door it opened and Hawke stepped out.

"Ah, there you are Hawke."

Hawke just stared at him with that cold look he was so good at. He knew that Archangel would have had him monitored the minute he entered the building, as he would all visitors, and knew exactly where he had been for the last 20 minutes.

"Yeah," he growled, following the spy to his office.


	6. Chapter 6

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

In Archangel's office everyone was waiting for Hawke and he took the only vacant chair. If he had been feeling well he would have stayed standing just to be awkward but he didn't think his legs would hold him up for very long.

Archangel got straight to the point, "From what Le tells me Holly must have left sometime in the night or early morning. One neighbour recalls hearing a car but didn't note the time. Holly has taken her suitcase and Symphony's bag containing all her baby... _stuff_," Archangel had no knowledge of what babies might need and could think of no better word for what the bag contained.

"What about milk?" Hawke asked, knowing that Symphony had only ever had one type of milk that had been recommended by the doctors. They thought there was a good chance that Beth's dairy intolerance would be passed onto her baby and wanted to take no chances until she was older and a good weight. Like her mother, Symphony was tiny and constantly underweight, despite having a healthy appetite.

"I was just getting to that. She only took one bottle, that Le had made up before bed," Archangel paused as Hawke jumped out of his seat to face him.

"She'll get sick! Holly won't know what to get," he was agitated and his pale complexion had the others worried.

Archangel tried to pacify him, "I know that Hawke, that's why the first place we started looking was in stores that opened early. A woman and baby were spotted by a shop assistant who thought the young woman was acting a little strange. She spent a long time looking at milk and diapers as though she didn't know what to get. Then when the assistant commented on the baby's black hair, asking if she got it from her father, she immediately denied it before hurrying out."

Medusa, who had been listening with interest, interrupted, "Did you check the other stores in the area?" she asked.

"No, we were sure that it was Holly so started searching motels and other places where she could stay, as well as bus depots, airports...."

"I thought you said she had Dominic's car. Has it been found?"

"Yes, in a car park near to the store, which is why we tried public transport. Why the third degree Adriana?"

"Well, I assume from what you have said that Holly doesn't have black hair like Symphony, great name by the way Hawke," Hawke had sat back down and just nodded wearily, "Anyway, as I was saying if the shop assistant noticed the hair colour then so will other people. If I was Holly I would die my hair black and invest in some new make-up to complement my new hair colour. So you need to be checking if she bought these items and if she did you need to give out a new description."

Archangel cursed, "Dammit, you're right. Why didn't I think of that?" he asked rhetorically, "Marella could you arrange for a new description to be circulated just in case. We don't want to lose any time."

Marella sat staring at him, her arms folded, a bemused expression on her face, "Shall I call Lauren in, _Michael_?" she asked him, reminding him that she no longer worked for him and had no idea who was dealing with the search.

He looked back at her, "Sorry Marella, habit I guess," he moved over to the intercom and called Lauren in.

* * *

With the new description circulated and a fresh search under way Adriana stood up and held out her hand to Hawke.

"_We_ are going to the clinic," she stated leaving no room for argument, "and once we've both been checked out we can help with the search."As she expected Hawke started to protest but Adriana just pulled him out of his seat, a no-nonsense look on her face which reminded him of Marella, "The sooner we get there the sooner we can leave. Marella, you want to drive us?"

Marella glanced at Archangel who nodded, "Take the limo, I don't need it today."

"I should be helping to search, she's my daughter!" Hawke protested.

"And that's why I have my best agents on it," Archangel gently told him, "you have helped me countless times and now it's time for me to repay you. But you need to trust me."

Hawke let out a deep breath through his nose as he looked around the room. The state he was in they could manhandle him to the clinic and he wasn't going to let them have the satisfaction.

"For now. But as soon as I get back I _am_ helping."

"I would expect no less," Archangel said with respect as the cousins led Hawke out of the office.

Hawke's arm was still oozing blood, a fact of which he was aware but hadn't bothered to tell anyone. The doctor took one look at it and at his pale face and immediately recommended surgery. Too weak to protest Hawke let himself be anaesthetised so the damaged blood vessels could be repaired.

Being a Firm's clinic Marella was able to avoid giving them information about the weapon used on Hawke, promising that she would be available to give them any information if it was essential.

Adriana had fared better and after a shower had cleaned off all the dust from the explosion the doctors found no serious injuries. Skinned knees and hands needed antiseptic and light bandages and her eyes were washed out and had finally stopped stinging. Her eardrums did not appear to be damaged and her hearing would just need time to return to normal.

Marella stayed with Adriana as she was cleaned up and then they both waited in a private family room for news of Hawke and discussed Hawke's missing child.

"What do you know about this Holly?" Adriana asked her cousin.

"Not a lot really. She's Dominic's niece, his sister's daughter, but he hasn't seen a lot of her. She was living with her grandmother in Buenos Aires. Being a relative of Dominic's we have some official files on her but nothing that is useful, except for the report that Archangel bullied out of her doctor at the clinic she was sent to after she tried to kill Caitlin...."

"Whoa, I'm confused already. You want to start at the beginning?"

So Marella told Adriana everything she knew about Holly, how she became obsessed with Hawke about a year and a half ago after he rescued her from a man named Ed Aarons who she said was holding her prisoner. She became convinced that Caitlin was Hawke's girlfriend, even though Cait had denied it, and Holly was jealous. The episode had ended with Holly pulling a gun on Caitlin while she was flying her to Hawke's cabin, threatening to kill both of them, leaving Hawke with neither of them. Holly had ended up in a private clinic close to her grandmother in Buenos Ares and had only been released a couple of month's ago, the doctor's foolishly believing that she was fully recovered.

When Marella had finished telling Adriana everything she knew about Holly, they sat in silence trying to get inside Holly's head. If they could figure her out they may have some insight into where she would go.

"Do you think Archangel will let me help?" Adriana asked.

"He'll take all the help he can get. Officially I can't work with him but if you're involved you can keep me up to date and I can help without being seen to," Marella answered with a heavy sigh, "I really want to see Beth, she's a good friend and must be devastated. Andrea's with her, you remember Andrea?" Adriana nodded, "but I........Damn!" Marella's eyes filled with tears as she recalled the last time she had seen Beth and Symphony. Adriana put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"As soon as Hawke is out of surgery we can go over there. I know it's hard but you have to be strong."

Marella took a deep breath, composing herself, "I know. I'm okay, just over tired. Will you wait here while I go take a shower?"

Adriana nodded, "I'll come get you if there's any news. Take your time, I'll contact Archangel and get him to send over the rest of the files. I can be of more help if I have photos and descriptions of everyone involved."

While Marella was showering the doctor informed Adriana that Hawke was out of surgery and would be awake soon. As they couldn't do anything until Hawke was awake Adriana didn't disturb Marella and took the opportunity to take a quick nap. She was awakened soon after by one of Archangel's assistants who had the other files that she had requested, along with a message that she was on the case.

* * *

Coming around after surgery Hawke terrible. He tried to sit up, pulling out tubes that were attached to various parts of his body and setting off alarms. He heard running footsteps in the corridor outside his room and the door burst open to reveal a doctor and 2 nurses.

"Keep still Mr. Hawke. You will do yourself some damage," the doctor told him as one nurse switched off the alarm while the other checked his bandage.

"I'm okay, need to find Symphony," Hawke slurred, still feeling the effects of the anaesthetic.

"Lie down Mr. Hawke or I will sedate you. Archangel is taking care of the search and said to tell you that he had some new leads that he is following up. You will be no use to him until the anaesthetic has completely worn off. I will send Marella in." The doctor abruptly left the room, leaving the two nurses to settle Hawke.

He lay back down in defeat. He felt a lot worse than he thought he would and the only reason he could control his rolling stomach was because it was empty.

He needed Beth, to see how she was coping. To offer her comfort and take some for himself. He couldn't understand why she wasn't with him now. If the situation had been reversed he would be at her side in a flash.

He closed his eyes, just intending to rest them for a moment, but found himself falling asleep.

He awoke as the door opened and Marella and Adriana entered carrying several files.

"Right," said Marella in a firm voice, "until you are able to get up we will go through these files with you, see if we can get any useful information."

Using his uninjured arm, Hawke pulled himself into a sitting position and Marella adjusted his pillows, "I should be out there looking, not sitting here."

"All in good time," Marella handed him Holly's file, "read this while Adriana reviews the other files. She needs to know what everyone looks like."

Marella perched on the edge of the bed while Adriana took the only chair and picked up the top file.

"Elizabeth Trafford," she read out loud, "so this is Beth, the baby's mother?"

Hawke nodded and Adriana opened the file. The top sheet was a photograph taken just over a year ago when she first went to work for Archangel. "God, she's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

Hawke gave her a look, "She's taken," he growled.

"Hey, I know," Adriana put her hands up in defence and turned to Marella, "do you have to tell everyone about my sexuality?" she asked her cousin.

"Only if it's relevant and I knew what Hawke's reaction would be if you tried your flirting routine on him."

"So now he thinks I'm after his woman!" Adriana said in exasperation, ignoring the fact that Hawke was sitting right next to her.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Marella gave a wry grin.

"That was an accident. Archangel forgave me, why can't you?"

"Forgave you for what?" they all looked up as Dominic walked through the open door, "Hey kid how are you doing?" He crossed the room to Hawke's side and Marella moved off the bed to make room for him.

"I'll be out of here soon. Any news? How's Beth? Is Le okay?" he asked quickly, anxious for any news.

"Hey, slow down. They're fine. Andrea has given Beth a mild sedative which is why she isn't here and Le is holding up. He's a great kid, String."

"Yeah. Why did Andrea have to sedate Beth?"

"She's upset, that's all," Dom sighed deeply and shrugged his shoulders, his actions belying his words.

"What aren't you telling me Dom?" Hawke asked.

Dom sighed again, "Well, she seems to blame herself. I mean, there was nothing she could have done but she keeps saying it's her punishment because she rejected her. I don't understand, and Andrea just wanted me out of the way."

Hawke swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood up, pulling his hospital own around himself.

"That's it! I'm leaving now...."

"String! You're in no fit state to.....

"I'm leaving now with or without you." He opened the bedside cabinet and took out his clothes, "Well, are you all going to stand around while I get dressed?"

Marella and Adriana grabbed the files and left Hawke and Dom to argue it out.

* * *

A couple of hours later they pulled up outside Dom's house. As they opened the door Le rushed to his uncle almost knocking him off his feet which were still unsteady.

"Hey Half-Pint. You okay?" Hawke asked.

The boy didn't answer, just clung to him, arms tight around his waist. Hawke realised Le was crying and gently lifted his chin so he could look at him, "It's going to be okay, we'll find her, I promise."

Le seemed reassured by his uncle's promise and loosened his grip so they could walk inside.

"Beth's upstairs with Andrea," Le volunteered. "she just keeps crying. I tried to cheer her up but she got worse and Andrea sent me away."

The tears were starting again and Dom came forward to comfort the boy. "It's nothing personal, she sent me away too. I don't think we can really understand what Beth is feeling and Andrea has experience of this sort of thing. Let's concentrate on finding Symphony then Beth will feel better."

"Cait's on her way over, she wants to help and has offered to fly if you need her to," Le sank onto the sofa pulling Hawke down beside him.

"We'll take any help we can get," Hawke said wrapping his arm around Le and sighing deeply, "Marella when is Michael getting here?"

"He's on his way, but don't get your hopes up Hawke, I don't think he has any news."

As Marella had said, Archangel had no news for them, other than to inform them that all leads had been followed up on.

"It's like she has just disappeared," Archangel concluded.

"You do realize that I intend to revisit all the people you spoke to?"

"I would expect no less of you, Hawke," Archangel replied, "and if Beth is up to it she could be a big help. Symphony looks like her mother and she may jog some memories. Also, and I know this may sound callous, but if anyone is holding something back through fear or loyalty, they may be sympathetic and divulge more if they see how upset Beth is."

Hawk stood up and loomed over the spy's chair, "Yes Michael, that is callous and I don't think Beth is up to it. Thanks to you and your Firm her life has been hell the past year and this may well be the final straw for her," Hawke's anger was obvious but nobody came to Michael's defence, not even Marella who knew that Hawke was right, Beth may not be able to cope if Symphony didn't return. This was between the two men and if it ended in a punch up then so be it.

Michael tried to stay calm, "She came to work for me willingly, Hawke, and Symphony's disappearance had nothing to do with me," Archangel had risen from his chair ready to defend himself if necessary.

"So where was I when Holly took her?" Hawke demanded rhetorically, gesturing angrily with his good arm, "I should have been here, sleeping in the same room as her. But no, I was on another mission for you!"

Adriana stood up and faced Hawke, "And I thank you for that Hawke. I would be dead now if you hadn't got me out and now I owe you my life and will do whatever I can to help you find your daughter."

All the energy drained out of Hawke and he sat back down next to a worried looking Le, "I'll take you up on that. Now, who's making coffee. One quick cup then we're out of here. Michael, I want names and addresses of everyone your agents have spoken to."

When Caitlin arrived they split up and visited all the places where Holly and Symphony had been sighted, as well as any places where they might be laying low. Although many had seen them the sightings had gradually lessened until they completely stopped.

That night everyone returned to their respective homes with the exception of Hawke, Beth and Le who stayed at Dom's not wanting to leave in case Holly got in touch.

* * *

A week passed with no positive sightings. They had plenty of false leads and everyone was getting tired and more irritable as the days went by. Not a day went by without Hawke and Dom going out looking, sometimes just driving or flying to random places, at other times following possible leads.

Beth completely withdrew into herself, not seeing anyone except Andrea, who called every day to see her.

Adriana had moved in with Marella and Michael and was working on the laser case as well as helping to search for Symphony.

Dom and Cait were looking after Le as well as helping Hawke to search.

Hawke was the most irritable of them all. He wasn't sleeping and spent all day searching. After the surgery he really needed to rest but he pushed himself to his limit. He was still feeling nauseous but soon discovered that if he didn't eat the bouts of sickness weren't as bad. Consequently he was surviving mainly on coffee and adrenaline.

He wanted to be with Beth but she wouldn't let him near, her guilt at losing their daughter stopped her from seeing him. She was the only person he would have talked to, confessed his feelings, and as she wasn't talking or listening he bottled it all up inside.


	7. Chapter 7

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

Hawke was worried about Beth, afraid to leave her alone for fear she would try to harm herself. She was sobbing uncontrollably one minute, the next she was dangerously quiet and calm; her mood swings rivalled even his own and his were pretty bad. She really did believe their baby was dead, she was holding out no hope for her safe return. Hawke couldn't understand it. He had to have hope, it was all that kept him going, that and the knowledge that Beth needed him now more than ever before.

Tonight had been another dead end, the woman and baby they had found had been joined by her husband by the time they had arrived and they were very upset at the disturbance, especially since Hawke had practically knocked down the door to get to them. If the woman hadn't taken pity on Hawke after Dominic had quickly explained the reason for their visit and stopped her husband from calling the cops, he would probably be locked up by now.

Hawke hesitated outside Dom's front door, not wanting to break the bad news to Beth; not that she had been expecting good news anyway.

Dom, however, just wanted to get inside to bed and he pushed the reluctant Hawke to one side and unlocked the door. It was late and they didn't expect anyone to be awake and were surprised when Le ran headlong into his uncle's arms, clinging onto him. They could see Beth through the open kitchen door, she was sitting at the table, her head resting on her folded arms and Le dragged Hawke along the hall out of her hearing.

"What's wrong Half-Pint?" Hawke asked, wondering what had happened while they were out.

"It's Beth, she won't move or talk or anything. She's just sat there since you left and when she does lift her head, her eyes are blank and kinda glassy."

Hawke groaned but tried to stay calm so as not than frighten Le more than he already was, "Has she taken anything, pills, alcohol...." He sighed with relief when Le shook his head, but his relief was short lived as he added that he hadn't been with her the whole time.

"I tried to stay with her, but I had to go to the bathroom and when I got back she had a glass of water in front of her. I'm sorry, Uncle String."

"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault. I should have asked Marella or Cait to stay over. Go phone Marella now for me, ask her to come over. And then go to bed. Okay?"

Le nodded and picked up the phone while Hawke went to the kitchen, closely followed by Dom.

"Go to bed Dom," he didn't want Dom around while he tried to talk to Beth. He didn't know about her last overdose and Hawke didn't want him finding out now.

"Will you be okay kid?" Dom asked him gently, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be fine," but as Dom left the room he added under his breath, "what choice do I have?"

Hawke waited until he heard Le and Dom go upstairs before sitting next to Beth and gently lifting her head to look into her eyes. Le had been right, her eyes were red from crying and definitely had a glazed look about them. He sighed and gathered her into his arms, "Beth?" she didn't respond. He repeated her name more firmly, "Beth! What have you taken?"

She raised her head and sighed. He smelled her breath. Vodka! It wasn't a glass of water, it was neat vodka.

A sudden rage overtook him and he picked up the glass and hurled it across the room. It smashed against the sink, glass flying in all directions from the force of the impact. "Damn you Beth, you're not the only one hurting!" His voice shook with the anger and pain he was feeling and she instinctively pulled way from him, frightened by the sudden sounds penetrating her drunken haze.

"Well? Did you find her?" her slurred and sarcastic words only fuelled his anger.

"No, but I was going to break it to you gently."

"No need. I knew you wouldn't find her. She's dead. Dead. Dead. DEAD!" she was screaming now and Hawke looked up to see Dom standing in the doorway, looking like his heart was breaking.

"String......"

"Go away Dom. This is between me and Beth!" He didn't want to upset the older man but neither did he want him to witness this scene. When he made no move to go, Hawke struggled to control himself so he could speak more calmly, "Dom, please. Le could probably use some company right now."

Dom saw the sense in this, if he could hear Beth screaming then so could the boy and he hauled his weary body back upstairs.

Left alone with Beth again, Hawke tried to reason with her, "Don't do this to yourself," he told her, realising ironically that Dom had said the same thing to him on many occasions when his search for St. John had proved fruitless.

"Why not? Just let me grieve!"

"There's nothing to grieve for! She's not dead. I'd know if she was dead," his voice cracked as he realised that it may not be true. He loved his daughter but hadn't had a lot of time to bond with her and wasn't sure if he would be able to tell if she was alive or not. But it was all he had to go on, this feeling that she was still alive and if he let go of that then he let go of all sanity.

Beth, however, had no such belief in his feelings and the drink had clouded her judgement. Her voice was sarcastic, bitter and nasty as she verbally attacked him, "Oh, you'd know would you? Just like you _know_ that St. John is still alive? So you're going to waste another 15 years of your life searching for another dead relative? Well count me out. St. John is dead and so is our baby so get over it and get on with your life!"

As soon as the word were out of her mouth, Beth realised the mistake she had made. She sat perfectly still, afraid to move, waiting for his reaction. The drink had made her vision blurry and the room appeared to be tilting slightly but she could see well enough to recognise the pain that crossed his features.

Everything happened in slow motion then as she felt herself being pushed off the chair onto the floor and strong hands tightened around her neck, blurring her vision even more. She barely recognised the man pinning her to the ground, his face was so twisted with pain and anger as he shouted in her face.

"Don't say that! Don't ever say that!" He was shaking her and she couldn't move, didn't even try to. It just wasn't worth the effort. She was taken back in time to a year ago and Hawke's face became Hunter's as she started to lose conciousness.

Then suddenly she was free and turning onto her side she vomited on the floor. The sound of the blood pumping in her ears was replaced by the sound of men fighting; deep grunts, fists hitting flesh and a child sobbing and a doorbell ringing and Marella's voice in the distance.

She wanted to ask someone to answer the door but she couldn't speak, all that came out was a croak.

She tried to get up but the effort caused her stomach to heave again, purging her of the vodka sitting in her otherwise empty stomach.

Dom had heard Beth screaming and couldn't leave it alone. Coming down the stairs he had seen her pinned to the floor by Hawke who had his hands around her throat, shaking her violently. Grabbing the younger man by his shirt he had lifted him off her and slammed him into the wall. Hawke, fuelled by anger fought back, punching Dom in the stomach and if he hadn't been recently injured he may have done some damage but the blow lacked power.

Le had followed Dom downstairs and foolishly approached Hawke, not understanding what was happening and Dom looked up to see Hawke poised to hit his nephew. Knowing that Hawke would never forgive himself if he hurt Le, Dom hurled himself between them taking the punch himself, then followed it up with a blow to the younger man's jaw.

As Dom's fist connected with his face Hawke lost his balance and put his hand out to steady himself. He felt a sharp pain as his palm came into contact with the broken glass. Ignoring the pain he lunged at Dom who saw him coming and sidestepped to avoid him.

Le ran into the hallway, crying, and after a few minutes realised that the ringing he could hear was not in his head but the doorbell. He let Marella into the house and she rushed into the kitchen just as Dom blocked another blow, grabbing Hawke's arm and following it with a fist into his face. Hawke's head jerked back, banging into the wall, knocking him unconscious. He slumped to the floor his injured hand bleeding heavily, forming a pool of blood around him.

Marella took in the scene in front of her and her medical training kicked in. She checked Beth first, gently lifting her head and checking her for injuries. Satisfied that she was just drunk and bruised she turned her attention to Hawke.

"Dominic, get me a medical kit."

The old man stood in front of her, his arm around Le, and seemed to be in shock.

"Dominic!" she tried again, not having time to deal with him as well. Le pulled away from him and walked unsteadily towards the stairs.

"I'll get it Marella," he said, his voice hoarse from crying. He was back downstairs in a couple of minutes and crouched down next to Marella, "How can I help?"

"You don't mind blood?" she asked the boy, unsure if she should let him help.

Le shook his head, "Nah! No problem. Shall I clean the cut for you?" He was still shaken from what he had witnessed but having something to do was helping.

"I'd better do that. It may have glass in it. You can get me a bandage ready and some tape to stick the skin back together."

"Shouldn't he go to hospital?" Dom had pulled himself together and was helping Beth to sit up.

"He'll only make a fuss. Best to fix him up while he's unconscious," Marella answered knowing how much Hawke hated hospitals, "how are you doing Beth?"

"S...sorry. My fault. I upset him," her voice was still a little rough and slurred.

"Tell me what happened later. Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so."

Marella bandaged Hawke's hand and had Dom move him to the sofa with instructions to keep an eye on him in case he was concussed.

She took Beth upstairs to the bathroom and undressed her while running her a bath. Marella stayed with her, helping her to get clean and checking her for injuries. The finger marks around her throat were now a livid red and she had various other bruises from when she had hit the floor. However it was her mental state that Marella was worried about. In a croaky voice Beth tried to tell her what happened but it was obvious that she was confused, probably due to the drink.

After putting her to bed and leaving a glass of water by the bed, Marella phoned Andrea, the Firm's counsellor. She needed someone to talk with Beth and keep an eye on her but she also needed to check on the others downstairs. Andrea promised to be there within 20 minutes and Marella stayed with Beth until she arrived.

Downstairs Dom was sitting in a chair near to Hawke. He had his head in his hands and Le's arm around his shoulders. The last few days had been as hard on him as it had been on String and Beth but he had tried to stay strong for them, and for Le. Now his emotions had finally caught up with him and he was unable to stop them from rising to the surface. Le was trying to comfort him but he just needed to cry it out. Dom blamed himself for Symphony's disappearance. He should never have allowed Holly to stay but his love for his niece had clouded his judgement and now he may have lost his only granddaughter because of it.

"Dom? Dominic?" Marella's voice penetrated his thoughts and he finally lifted his head, "are you okay?"

Shaking his head, Dom took a deep breath and tried to get control of himself. He felt bad about losing it in front of Le and wasn't thrilled to have Marella see him like this.

Marella went to the kitchen and made hot chocolate, giving Dom time to compose himself.

When she returned he was more like his old self and while they drank their chocolate she questioned him.

"Tell me what happened?"

Dom shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in a 'I don't know' gesture, "String just lost it," he said, hating to admit it, still not able to believe it himself.

"Lost it how?"

"He attacked her. She was on the floor and he was strangling her," he knew there was no point in denying it, they had both seen the ugly marks around Beth's neck, "We had another sighting tonight. It wasn't them of course but we had to check. Beth has given up and String can't understand that. He's convinced that Symphony is still alive."

"What do you think?"

Dom glanced at Le. The poor boy had had to grow up a lot in the last few days and he loved Symphony just as much as they did. Dom decided to be honest, "I'm not sure. All I know is that String is convinced that she's alive, just as he's convinced St. John is alive. I tend to believe him, I just wish that sometimes he would doubt it, it might save him some pain."

Marella nodded, understanding, "I would trust his gut instinct any day though, it has proved right too often to ignore it."

Le looked at them with a confused expression, "What do you mean?"

Marella answered, "Hawke had been known to have 'feelings' about things, gut instincts if you like. He won't admit that it's anything unusual but I think it may be. He's been right too many times to call it lucky."

"So.....he can sort of feel that Symphony and St. John, my dad, are still alive?" Le still sounded confused and a little hopeful.

"I really don't know Le. I just know that I trust his instincts," Marella sounded tired now and wished she had more to reassure the boy with.

"String's been sick since Symphony went."

"That's probably a result of the anaesthetic," Marella told him.

Dom looked sharply at the boy, "No," he told Marella, "it started before that, in Airwolf, remember? He thought it was just a result of his injury or a reaction to the painkillers. Le are you saying he's still feeling sick?"

"Yes, he tries to hide it but he's up every three or four hours in the night." Beth had chosen to sleep in Le's room, refusing Hawke's comfort since their daughter went missing, so Le had stayed on the camp bed in Hawke's room. "It's like when Symphony used to wake in the night for her feeds......" Le's voice trailed off as a thought occurred to him, "I think Symphony's sick and String's feeling it. He's in the bathroom every three or four hours during the day too. We know Holly was feeding her normal milk which she's too young for and probably sensitive to, just like Beth is."

Dom started to protest but Marella interrupted, "Le don't get your hopes up but it has been known to happen. It's usually the mother who can sense if their child is sick but it's not unknown for the father to have that sort of connection. If you're right, and I say 'if', then it means that Symphony is still alive but we need to find her soon. I'll get in touch with Michael, get him to increase the search."


	8. Chapter 8

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

Despite the increased search another day passed without any sightings. Andrea stayed with Beth while Marella returned to Knightsbridge to help Archangel and Medusa with the search.

Despite his injuries Hawke left the house and made his way to the Lair. After the cabin, Airwolf was his favourite place to be and he needed time alone.

After clearing the chimney he flew automatically, his thoughts on his daughter. Every moment he had spent with her was recalled until he could no longer see for the tears in his eyes. A close miss of one of the rock formations brought him back to the present as he realised that he was no use to anyone if he was dead.

He swiped the tears from his eyes and forced himself to concentrate on controlling the aircraft while he tried to organize his thoughts.

There had to be some clue to Symphony's whereabouts. Holly could not have just disappeared, she had to be somewhere. The question was where, and who had seen her last.

If she was with people she knew then surely they would be questioning where the child came from, but if she hadn't seen them in a while she could be passing her off as her own.

He suddenly realised that she could not have planned the abduction in advance because she didn't know that Symphony existed until she arrived at Dom's place, so something must have happened after she arrived.

Hawke knew that Holly was still obsessed with him, her actions when she had arrived told him that, and that was possibly the reason behind her taking his daughter. But where?

He had to get back, question Le again. There had to be something that they had missed and if Marella was right and Symphony was sick then they were running out of time.

She could not die, he wouldn't allow it but she was still alive now, he was certain. As if to emphasise the point his stomach lurched and he decided to land. Turning Airwolf, Hawke returned to the lair with a purpose.

* * *

Back at Dom's he was greeted by a sad looking Le.

"Beth's been crying again, String. She won't talk to me. Andrea's made her go to sleep again."

"Don't worry Half-Pint," Hawke hugged his nephew, "let me get cleaned up, then we need to have a chat." His hand was bleeding again and he tried to hide it from his nephew.

Le looked closely at Hawke, "You've been crying too. We all have. I wish Holly had never come! I hate her!" Le stormed off to his room before Hawke had a chance to comment. In normal circumstances he would have chastised Le for being rude but in truth he felt the same. So he just said a quick hello to Dom before heading for the shower.

Showered and dressed Hawke made for the kitchen where Dom was waiting for him.

"String," Dom began tentatively, "you do know what day it is?"

"Tuesday?" Hawke guessed, shrugging his shoulders; he didn't really care.

Dom gave a deep sigh and shook his head, "It's Christmas Eve," Hawke looked at him shocked. He hadn't realised the date. "I'm going to church later and I wondered if I should ask Beth."

"No, she's not a believer."

"I know, but at times like this..."

"No Dom. Her beliefs, or lack of them, don't change just because things aren't going her way."

"But..."

"No! She will be offended if you ask her, so no. You go if you want, take Le if he wants to go but Beth and I stay here."

Hawke felt bad. He had promised Le a family Christmas, their first together. They had planned to spend a few days at Dom's place then move to the cabin for a few peaceful days. Presents had already been bought but he was sure that not even Le would be interested. The only present any of them wanted was Symphony back safe and well. "I need to talk with Le again. You coming?"

Dom didn't take offence and followed Hawke upstairs to Le's room. Le refused to leave his room so Hawke and Dom sat on his bed.

"I want you to tell me everything that you can remember Holly doing or saying since she arrived," Hawke told Le, "Did she meet up with anyone, did anyone call at the house, where there any phone calls?"

Le shook his head, "I don't remember."

"Try harder Le, Symphony's life could depend on it."

"I'm sorry uncle String, I want to help, I want Symphony back as much as you do but I don't know anything."

Dom put his arms around the distraught kid, "Go easy on him String,"

"There has to be something, she must have planned where to go."

"Beth was with her more than me. She didn't seem to like me much."

"Beth's not talking. You are. Please Le," Hawke's voice was desperate and close to tears.

Dominic intervened again, trying to keep things calm, "Did you go anywhere? Do anything unusual? Did Holly receive any phone calls?"

"Apart from the visit to the circus all we did was stay in, trim the tree, watch TV."

"Hang on – the circus? You've not mentioned that before," Hawke felt his hopes rise.

"Sure I have. Holly told you about it when she arrived. She had tickets for us all but cause you and Dom had to go away we went without you. Symphony loved the music and the colours - she didn't cry once!"

"Le," Hawke tried to keep his voice level, "I don't know about any circus trip, why haven't you mentioned this before?"

"It was planned and you knew about it. I didn't tell you about how good it was because it didn't seem right, not with Symphony missing. I did wrong, didn't I?"

Dom was quick to reassure the boy, "You did what you thought was right. Don't worry yourself about it. But you must tell us everything now, it could be important."

"When you brought Beth home, Holly told us about her surprise present for us all. She had tickets for the last night of the travelling circus, said she knew someone who worked there, an Italian guy, I can't remember his name. I met him after the show but they spoke Italian and I didn't understand. Symphony's name was mentioned but I thought she was just telling him about her."

"I left soon after I brought Beth home. Holly must have told you after we left," Hawke said.

"But she said she had told you and you said it was okay for us to go. I guess she lied a lot," Le glanced at Dominic apologetically.

"Yes, she did. I'm sorry I trusted her, but she's family," Dom's voice was sad as he realised again the possible consequences of his trusting his niece.

"Now is not the time for recriminations, " Hawke said, hope creeping into his voice, "let's find out where the circus went after they left here. If they aren't American citizens they would need permission to perform so Archangel is our best bet."

Archangel pulled a few strings and found out the names of the performers as well as where they were performing next. They were only about 50 miles away and the decision was made to drive there, it would only take about an hour, and if the situation was dangerous they would bring Airwolf in. It would take just as long to get to Airwolf and he didn't want to expose her to the public if it wasn't necessary.

"Dom, would you wait in the lair until we radio you?" Hawke asked. He knew that Dom would want to come with them but he needed back-up.

"I don't know String. I think I should come with you. Holly may respond better to me. D'you think Cait would mind playing back-up just this once?"

Adriana, who had been sitting quietly intervened, "Dom's right Hawke. I've studied her file and made a profile. She may think she has done no wrong and if Dominic is there he could talk to her while you look for your daughter. I would like to come along if you have no objections."

So the plan was set. Archangel, Adriana, Marella, Dominic and Hawke would travel in Archangel's limo while Cait waited in Airwolf for their call.

"What about Beth?" Dominic asked Hawke as they were about to leave.

"What about her?" was his dark reply.

Dom gave him an exasperated look, "You know what I mean. Aren't you going to tell her. She is Symphony's mother and might like to be there."

Hawke shook his head, not really wanting to discuss this but knowing that Dom wouldn't leave it alone, "She's not up to it. If we don't find her........"

Dom patted his arm sympathetically, "I know kid, but what if we do find her? Don't you think she should be there for the reunion?"

Hawke's head was still shaking and he made a determined effort to stop, "Dom, I know you mean well but I don't want to have to deal with Beth's reaction if this doesn't turn out well. She's not stable at the moment and could blow the whole thing. Andrea can stay with her at your house."

* * *

The journey was tense, the three man in the back sitting silently. Marella was driving and Adriana chose to sit in the front with her. An hour passed without a word being spoken.

They found the circus easily and the show was in full swing, the big top full of awed children. A faint smile crossed Hawke's lips as he imagined his daughter enjoying the show. The girl on the door was counting the takings and they easily slipped past her and found themselves outside the dressing rooms. Voices were coming from behind one curtained off doorway and they paused to listen.

A male and a female were talking in Italian and Dom moved closer to hear what they were saying.

"They are talking about a baby, how she cries too much. The girl doesn't believe that Holly is the mother, says she isn't natural with the baby," he whispered, "Shall we go in?"

Hawke moved in front of Dom and pushed aside the curtain. The girl gave a scream and the man stood up to face the intruders.

"Who are you?" he demanded in heavily accented English.

"I want my baby. Where is she?" Hawke asked threateningly.

"The baby is with Holly. You are the father, I have seen a photograph she keeps in her purse."

"Where is she?" Hawke repeated, losing patience.

"I don't think Holly wants to see you. She said you had a fight and she had to leave with the baby."

"That's a lie. She isn't her mother. Where is she? I won't ask again," he drew a gun and the girl screamed again.

"Can you prove it?" the girl asked in Italian. Dom translated for Hawke's benefit.

Adriana stepped forward and produced a photo of Beth, "This is the baby's mother. See the resemblance?" she spoke in fluent Italian, showed the frightened girl the photo and carefully watched her reaction. The Italian girl took the photo and showed it to the man.

"I told you she is not the mother," she stated firmly in Italian. Then she turned to Hawke and said in stilted English, "I take you."

Leaving the big top by a back exit they were faced with a field full of caravans. Most were in darkness but a couple had faint lights showing through the curtains.

The girl, who introduced herself as Isabella, lead them to the farthest caravan that was lit.

"She live there with baby. Is baby sick? She cry a lot."

Hawke turned to Dom, "Tell her the Symphony needs special milk or she gets sick. Tell her we need to get her to a hospital quickly."

Dom translated and Isabella nodded, "Yes, baby is sick."

Michael and Marella returned to the limo to radio Caitlin. It would be quicker to get Symphony to a Firm clinic in Airwolf.

As they approached the caravan, Hawke put out his had, stopping the others, "Only Dom and I go in. We'll shout if we need back-up."

The caravan door wasn't locked and Hawke opened it quietly, hoping to surprise Holly. He was in luck, she was asleep on the sofa, the baby lying in a cardboard box on the floor next to her.

Hawke looked at his baby and he held his breath as his heart dropped. She was so still he thought they were too late and it took a couple of deep breaths before he could bring himself to lift her out of her makeshift cot.

She woke suddenly, her thin and wailing cry filling the air. Hawke had never heard such a beautiful sound, but still it worried him; it was so different from her usual cry.

He held her close, tears pouring down his face, Dom at his side.

Holly awoke at the sudden noise and started to shout at Symphony to shut up before she realised that she had company. She jumped off the sofa and moved quickly towards Hawke, a strange smile on her face. Unsure of her intentions, Dom stopped her before she reached him.

"String, I knew you would come for me!" Holly exclaimed triumphantly, "I knew you wouldn't abandon our baby."

At the sound of Symphony's cries Marella had entered the caravan and gently took her from Hawke.

"She's not_ our_ baby, she's my baby. Mine and Beth's. And you took her and made her sick. How could you do that to her, to us," his voice shook with anger and Dom held him firmly to stop him from advancing on Holly. He recognised the hurt and anger in his voice and was worried that he would hurt her.

"Let me go Dom! She deserves what she's got coming!"

Dom kept his voice calm as he held Hawke tightly, "No, String. Holly did wrong but Symphony is okay and you hurting her won't change anything."

"It might make me feel better," Hawke muttered darkly.

"No, it won't. Trust me String. I'll make sure Holly is punished, but you're not hurting her. Take Symphony to the clinic, I'll stay here with Adriana, we'll inform the authorities."

As they left the caravan they heard the unmistakable sound of Airwolf arriving. Keeping a safe distance from where Caitlin would have to land Marella examined Symphony.

"She's dehydrated and feels lighter than she was but I think she'll be fine. She must have been getting some nourishment, just not as much as she needs. A few days in the clinic on a drip should see her back to an acceptable weight."

Hawke gave a sigh of relief but was still unsure, "Are you sure, her cry....."

"Yes, I'm sure. But of course I'll give her a full examination when we get to the clinic. Now get in Airwolf, we've wasted enough time here."

In Airwolf, Marella held Symphony securely. She had stopped crying which worried Marella but she kept her thoughts to herself, knowing that worrying Hawke would serve no purpose.

"Turbos," Hawke requested of Michael who was sitting in Dominic's usual seat.

"No!" Marella exclaimed urgently, "She's too weak. The clinic isn't too far, she'll be fine."

Hawke grunted in disgust but trusted Marella.

The journey only took 15 minutes but to Hawke it seemed like a lifetime. His daughter was still very quiet and he knew something was wrong even if Marella wasn't saying.

Michael radioed ahead and when they landed on the clinic roof a doctor and 2 nurses were waiting for them.

Marella remained in charge, carrying the silent baby to an examination room and assisting the doctor while Michael forcibly held Hawke in the corridor.

"Let them examine her," he told the impatient father, "they know what they're doing. We'd just be in the way."

"I know. It's just.......she's so quiet. Shouldn't she be crying?" He couldn't stay still and Michael let him go so he could pace up and down.

"Hawke, they won't be long. Just be patient," he was worried too but wasn't going to let Hawke know it.

Another lifetime passed before Marella finally opened the door and called Hawke in.

"I was right. She is dehydrated and underweight but she will be fine in a few days," she told him as he pushed past her to the cot.

"When can I take her home?" he looked down on her. She was asleep now, breathing quietly her, chest rising and falling. She was attached to a drip and his heart constricted as he realised that he could have lost her.

"She needs to stay here for a few days under observation. She will be watched 24 hours a day. Beth can stay with her, we'll arrange a room for the two of them."

"Beth!" Hawke exclaimed, "I need to call her. She needs to know," he paused then and looked at Marella, "How do you think she'll take it? She believes Symphony is dead. I don't know how she'll react."

"How about I go pick her up?" Marella suggested, "Andrea can come with her." Hawke nodded, relieved that he didn't have to make the call, " and in the meantime, let's get your hand looked at. I think you've opened the wound up, again."

Hawke looked down at his hand. He was surprised to see the blood soaked bandage and realised that he was in pain. He looked back at his sleeping daughter and Marella correctly guessed what he was thinking.

"She'll sleep for a while and the nurse will stay with her. You'll only be about half an hour."

Hawke nodded and with one last glance at his daughter, he followed Marella out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

Hawke was dozing by his daughter's cot when he was awakened by the door opening. His eyes were open in a flash, darting towards his sleeping child, then to the door.

He stood up as Beth entered closely followed by Andrea and Marella.

Beth stopped as she reached the cot and turned around to face Marella, fear in her face.

"It's okay Beth, she's going to be fine," Marella reassured the frightened young woman, "you can't pick her up yet, but you can touch her."

Still Beth hesitated and Hawke took her hand and gently but firmly pulled her towards the cot. He lifted their joined hands and stroked Symphony's dark hair. Beth let out a gasp as she felt the warm soft skin of the child she thought had died. A sob caught in her throat as she turned to accept Hawke's embrace. He held her tightly as sobs racked her tiny frame.

* * *

The next day a very subdued Dominic came to visit. Holly had been taken back to the clinic in Buenos Aires and it looked like she would be there for a long time. He had spoken to her grandmother and she had agreed to keep Dominic informed of her progress. As much as it hurt him he knew that he couldn't face seeing her again, not after what she had done this time. He had nearly lost his only granddaughter and if that had happened he would have blamed himself. He would have lost String, Beth and Le too. He wouldn't have been able to face them, even though Hawke had said he didn't blame Dominic for Holly's actions.

Beth let him hold Symphony for a few minutes. She was still recovering from her own breakdown and didn't have the words to tell Dom that she didn't blame him. Letting him hold her seemed to best way to show it and seeing the look of love on his face made it worth it.

* * *

As the days passed and Symphony slowly gained weight Hawke realised that he too was feeling better. He had gained his appetite and no longer felt sick. He didn't believe that his sickness was in any way related to his daughters and ignored the knowing looks of his family and friends as they noticed his recovery.

After a week the doctor pronounced Symphony well enough to go home and Hawke arrived at the clinic ready to take his family home. Beth had not left her daughter's side the whole week and Hawke had to admit that he was feeling left out. He wanted to be with both of them but Beth had eyes for no one but Symphony and practically ignored him.

As he stood outside their room a beautiful sound reached his ears; Beth was singing. As he listened he realised that he had not heard her sing in over a year but until this moment he had not realised how much he had missed it. She was singing a lullaby so he quietly pushed open the door, careful not to disturb them.

The sight before him brought tears to his eyes. Beth was sitting on the bed with Symphony in her arms and the look of love on her face told its own story.

She looked up as he entered but didn't stop singing until she was sure that Symphony was fast asleep.

"That was beautiful," Hawke said when she eventually stopped.

Beth just shrugged, "She seems to like it. It gets her to sleep which is what matters."

"Ready to come home?"

Beth laid the baby in her cot, "Yeah. Just give me time to pack then we can leave. Are we going to the cabin?"

Hawke's heart skipped a beat, "If that's where you want to go," he replied, not sure what he would do if she wanted to return to her apartment.

She shrugged again and looked over at the baby, "I guess."

Hawke realised that he didn't really have her full attention and turned back towards the door, "Well, unless you need a hand I'll be waiting outside. I have to speak to the doctor before we leave."

Her attention had already turned toward her daughter again and she just nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.

Moving back into the cabin after Symphony was released from the clinic was a relief to Hawke, but at the same time he was concerned. It had been a while since they had been a family and he wasn't sure if they would drift back into their familiar roles or even if it was what they all wanted.

Le had enjoyed staying with Dominic. He was close to his school and could visit his friends. At the cabin he was isolated and although Hawke knew he loved it he wasn't sure if it was good for the boy.

Beth was his other worry. Even before all this had happened she hadn't been completely happy and he didn't really know why. He knew she still had nightmares about her kidnap and rape and he guessed new ones would be added now, ones that he would probably suffer from too. Maybe some time together would solve their problems. Bringing in the bags he put Beth's clothes in the loft bedroom with his. They hadn't slept in the same room for a while but there was nowhere else for her and he wasn't about to suggest that either of them take the sofa; he wanted a reconciliation.

It was Dominic who suggested that the young couple might like some time alone together. He had tentatively suggested that the baby sleep in Le's room for a few nights, giving String and Beth some badly needed private time as well as the opportunity for an undisturbed night's sleep.

Le had jumped at the suggestion. He was excited at being trusted with such an important job, especially as Symphony was sleeping longer most nights.

Beth was reluctant at first, not liking the idea of her baby being out of her sight after such a dramatic separation, but had been reassured when Le told her that he would wake her up if he couldn't cope. And as Dom was staying for a few days, sleeping in the guest room next to Le's, he could help too.

In front of his family Hawke admitted that it was a good idea as both he and Beth were exhausted, both physically and emotionally. But Dom noticed that something was wrong. After agreeing, Hawke had become quiet and withdrawn and Dom suspected that he wanted to talk but was too stubborn or private to do so. As usual it was up to Dom to broach the subject when they found themselves alone on the porch steps later that day.

"You wanna talk about it String?" he asked casually, staring out at the lake.

Hawke looked at him in surprise, "Talk about what?" he asked.

"Well something has been eating at you since this morning and I figured that maybe you wanted to have a talk, man to man?" Dom chose his words with care, not wanting to give Hawke a reason to back down.

"Man to man?" Hawke responded, a little tetchily.

"Well yeah. I mean, I'm a man and so are you so anything we say is man to man," Dom tried to lighten the situation by adding a hint of humour.

"Funny Dom. I know that's not what you meant."

"Oh, so what did I mean then?" Dom asked the younger man in a knowing way.

"You can't trick me like that. I've known you too long!" Hawke hid a smile. In truth he did want to talk to Dom but was unsure how to begin. He sighed deeply and turned his face away from his friend. He knew that he could talk to Dom about almost anything, but sometimes the generation gap made it a little difficult. He recalled a conversation a while ago when he had admitted to Dom that he sometimes wanted to talk but was unsure if Dom would react as a friend or a father. Dom's emotional response had been to tell Hawke that he only had to ask, so Hawke took the bull by the horns and asked.

"Dom, I need some fatherly advice. You feel up to listening?"

"Of course. You know you only need to ask."

"I know. It's just...well...dammit it's embarrassing!"

"More embarrassing than the talks we had when you were a teenager and starting to notice girls?" Dom asked him with a grin.

Hawke grinned back, "Yep, it's right up there with _those_ talks," he admitted, the look on his face speaking volumes about how he felt about it.

"Just spit it out kid."

Hawke took a deep breath and tried to put his fears into words. "I...I don't know if Beth still wants me," he said quickly.

"Of course she wants you, you're the father of her child."

Hawke sighed and tried again, "I know she wants me as her child's father, I'm just not sure that she wants_ me._"

He pleaded silently that Dom would understand what he was trying, so badly, to say.

When he met up with Beth again, and they had got over his initial misunderstanding about who was the father of the child she was expecting, it had seemed as though their relationship would continue where they had left off, seven months previously.

But it never got past the occasional kiss when they thought Le wasn't looking and after the baby was born she had moved into the guest room and any pretence at intimacy was gone.

Hawke knew she needed time after the baby was born, but even after the doctor had given the all clear for them to resume 'normal relations', Beth had still kept her distance.

And now it had become a habit to act that way.

Hawke suspected that the only reason Beth was going to sleep in his bed was because she was too embarrassed to kick Dom out of the guest room.

"Oh come on kid, she loves you. Has she ever given you any indication that she doesn't?"

Hawke sighed. Dom hadn't seen much of Beth lately and when he had she was usually looking after the baby. If he'd seen her alone with him he would realise how different she was acting. Dom had often been amused and sometimes embarrassed by the way Beth was always touching him, but that didn't happen any more.

"Yes Dom, every minute we're together," Hawke admitted.

"But she's been through a lot these last couple of weeks, you both have. Give it time."

"I have given it time! It's not just the last few weeks it's since she came back 6 months ago."

Dom finally started to understand what his young friend was trying to say, "Oh. I see," he sounded surprised, knowing how close the couple had been before.

"I still want her but if she doesn't want me any more then.......And I don't know how to broach the subject. Since Symphony got back she has taken up all her attention." The emotions he had tried to keep under control for the last couple of weeks were rising to the surface making him say things he wouldn't normally say, "And after the way I attacked her I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to see me again." he hung his head, looking at his bandaged hand, still ashamed of the way he had acted.

"She forgave you String. There was no excuse for what you did but she knew she had goaded you and was prepared to accept the consequences. And there's nothing to stop her from moving back to her apartment, but she hasn't. Doesn't that say something?"

Hawke shrugged, "I guess."

"You talked at the clinic didn't you, before Symphony.....went missing? I thought you'd sorted things out."

"So did I," he sighed and shrugged his shoulders again, "Look I'm sorry Dom, I shouldn't have said anything. It's my problem."

"Yes it is but I think you're making a fuss out of nothing. If you still want my advice I'll give it. You'll only ignore it if you don't like it anyway."

Hawke gave a rueful smile. He knew Dom was right, "Well I can't ignore it if I don't know what it is."

"True. My advice, for what it's worth, is to take her to your room and tell her exactly what you have just told me. I'm pretty sure I know where it'll lead."

"That's your advice?" Hawke wondered if it could really be that simple.

"That's my advice. You gonna take it?"

"I can't think of anything better, so yes, I'll take it. Want the details in the morning," he added with a wicked grin.

Dom pushed him in the direction of the door, "There are some things I _don't_ need to know. Now get inside."

Le was in the kitchen getting a drink of milk and fixing a bottle in case Symphony woke in the night.

"String, Beth gave me a message for you."

"Where is she?" Hawke asked, looking around.

"Bath. She said could you take up a bottle of wine or if you prefer you can have coffee. I'm sure that's what she said, but you never drink coffee at bedtime. You want the wine?" Le opened the fridge door, took out a chilled bottle of white wine and handed it to his uncle who was trying hard to hide a grin. Beth had suggested coffee at bedtime! Maybe she did want him after all.

He took the wine from Le and opened it. They needed to relax so tonight it would be wine. Tucking the bottle under his arm he picked up two glasses and said good night to Le.

"Don't wake us unless you have a problem with Symphony. Beth needs to catch up on some sleep."

"Okay. Night Uncle String."

"Night Half-Pint."

When he had built the extra bedrooms Hawke had also enclosed the loft bedroom, giving him more privacy. He quietly closed the door behind him and looked through the open bathroom door.

Beth was lying in a hot bubble bath, the bubbles up to her neck. She looked up when she heard him.

"Brought the wine?" he lifted the bottle to show her. "Well pour it then!"

He poured her a glass and placed it on the edge of the bath. She took a sip, then looked him in the eyes, "You having some? I don't think I should drink alone," she smiled to take the edge off her words. She had been doing too much drinking alone recently.

Hawke smiled back and poured himself a glass, "To us?" he toasted, still unsure of Beth's intentions.

"If you'll still have me," she replied shyly.

He nodded and no more words were necessary as he bent down and kissed her.

* * *

Hawke awoke early the next morning and looked across at Beth sleeping peacefully next to him. He knew if he stayed where he was he would have to wake her and she needed her sleep, so he slipped out of bed and into the shower.

As he was getting dried he heard Symphony crying and had an urge to see his children. His children! Seven months ago it was just him and Dom and now he had Beth, Le and Symphony as well. He couldn't quite believe his luck but decided not to dwell on it knowing that his thoughts would turn dark if he did. All he needed now was to find St. John and his family would be complete.

Wrapping a towel around his waist he crept downstairs and knocked on Le's door.

"Come in," Le called. He had just started to feed Symphony, holding her securely on his lap.

"Hey Le. Hey Symphony," he dropped a kiss on each of their heads.

"Did she wake you?" Le wanted to know.

"No, I was already up. She sleep through the night?"

"Yeah. All night!" Le announced proudly, "You're getting a big girl aren't you?" he smiled down at her, "Uncle String have you noticed her hair is the same colour as mine?"

"I had," he wondered where this was leading as Le sounded a bit nervous.

"Well.......it's like she's a real sister, looking a bit like me. I told the kids at school that I had a baby sister. Is that okay?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Oh yes, if it's okay with you and Beth."

"It is. Beth and I talked about this after she met you. She accepts that we are a package deal, you and me," he hesitated then continued cautiously, "Look, I know things have been hard lately but I think we're over the worst. Do you understand what's been wrong with Beth?"

"Sort of. Marella explained and I think I understand."

"If you have any questions I want you to ask me or Marella."

"Okay," Le looked over String's shoulder, "Morning Dom." Dominic had appeared in the doorway looking tired.

"What's all this noise about? It's not morning yet is it?"

Hawke grinned at him, "Yes it is you lazy coot. You want coffee?"

Dom yawned, "Only if you're making it."

"Yeah, I'm making. You want anything Half-Pint?"

Le shook his head, "Not yet, I'll get something when Symphony's finished."

Dom followed Hawke into the kitchen.

"Well?" he asked the younger man.

"Well what?" Hawke replied, feigning innocence.

"Did you talk with Beth?" he asked impatiently.

"We didn't get around to talking."

"Oh String!" Dom sounded disappointed. He was so sure they would sort things out.

"We did make up though and actions speak louder than words," Hawke grinned, "but you said you didn't want details."

Dom rolled his eyes, "You will talk though?"

"Yes, we'll talk. But can I at least wait until she wakes up?"

When the coffee was ready Dom returned to his room and Hawke took two cups upstairs.

Beth was awake and sitting up in bed.

"Morning," Hawke dropped a kiss on her cheek before handing her a cup, "sleep well?"

"Better than I have in a long time. Thanks," she indicated the coffee, taking a sip, "you been up long?"

Hawke let the towel fall to the floor and slipped between the sheets, "Not long. I went down to see Le and Symphony."

"She okay?" Beth asked, worry creeping into her voice.

"Fine," he quickly assured her, not wanting her to go downstairs yet, "Le is feeding her."

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Sorry String, I guess it'll take a while for me to stop worrying."

He finished his coffee and pulled her close, "Take as long as you need. We'll all be here for you."

"I know," she returned his embrace.

"You feel up to having Christmas yet?" It was an unspoken agreement that Christmas was cancelled until Symphony was back

Beth nodded, "It's not fair on Le to delay any longer, did you bring everything from Dom's? I wasn't really paying attention."

This time it was Hawke's turn to nod. Symphony had been in hospital since her rescue and Beth hadn't left her side. All the love and bonding that she had been unable to feel after the birth was happening now and Hawke was delighted. He knew how hard it was on her to leave Symphony with Le the night before but it was a start, and she was only downstairs if Beth felt the need to see her.

"I brought all the presents and Dom and I will go out and find a tree. Just as soon as he wakes up properly," Hawke grinned.

"How is he doing?"

"Better. It hit him hard but he knows that it's for the best. I'm not sure he'll see Holly again."

Beth sighed, "I feel bad for him but you're right, it's best she's gone."

Hawke sighed too, not wanting to talk about Holly any more. He pushed the covers aside and started to get out of bed.

"String?" Beth's tone stopped him and he turned back to her, "don't go yet."

"What's wrong?"

"I.... well.......are we okay?"

"After last night? You bet we are!"

"String!"

"Sorry. You had me worried you know. I thought you were going to leave me. I even confided in Dom and now he's waiting for updates on how we're doing. He was very disappointed when I told him we hadn't talked yet," he grinned slyly at her as his meaning was made clear.

Beth blushed, "I guess we'd better talk then. I don't think I could face him if you told him we'd put it off any longer."

Hawke laughed, "Yeah, I can just imagine the look on his face if we spend all morning up here then tell him we still haven't talked."

Beth reached for him, pulling him back down to lie next to her, "Can we talk and kiss at the same time?" she asked her mouth seeking out his.

He mumbled against her lips, "We can try," before returning her kiss.


End file.
